Missy Lane's Assembly Room

When Keyon Harrold is listing the influences that he turned to during the creation of his rich and evocative new album Foreverland (January 2024 / Concord), he cites the likes of Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Fela Kuti, John Coltrane, and, for a second, he becomes vulnerable — the list is too basic, too serious music listener starter pack. 

Taking in Keyon Harrold’s career to-date, it’s clear that the “world-class trumpeter” (Essence) and composer is very serious about that diet. He’s a jazz musician but in the most expansive sense, working with a list of dream collaborators: generational legends Keith Richards and Diana Ross; rap stars like Mac Miller and Nas; neo-soul icons Erykah Badu and D’Angelo; and modern soul stars Black Pumas and Leon Bridges. His circle of regular collaborators is formidable and includes his music industry mentor Common (who hired him for his first touring gig), his New School classmate Robert Glasper, and GRAMMY winners Maxwell, PJ Morton, Gregory Porter, and YEBBA.

There’s also his extensive touring and recording work with pop music royalty, Jay-Z and Beyonce. And, while it’s perhaps lazy to compare Keyon to Miles Davis, the connection is a little more apropos than at first glance: Harrold contributed all of the trumpet playing in Don Cheadle’s GRAMMY-winning Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead, playing to match Cheadle’s on-screen performances.

Keyon has recorded two acclaimed solo records, 2009’s Introducing Keyon Harrold and 2017’s breakthrough release The Mugician, which established Keyon as “a certified legend in the game” (Okayplayer). Featuring Pharoahe Monch, Gary Clark, Jr., Big K.R.I.T., Guy Torry, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Robert Glasper, the record garnered praise from The New York Times (“stirring…consolidates elegy and exhortation”) and Billboard (“equal parts music and magic”). However, the origins of Foreverland begin not at the crest of a professional and artistic high but in the doldrums of COVID-19 lockdown. A pandemic birthday found Keyon adrift.