Keyon Harrold (USA)
Grammy Award winner, Keyon Harrold, one of the world’s most sought-after genre-bending trumpeters, released ‘The Mugician’ in September via Legacy Recordings/ Mass Appeal Records.
Long known as the artist’s artist – he has worked with Maxwell, Common, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Eminem and a long list of the world’s top musical icons – The New York-based musician now takes center stage with a captivating LP that ponders the fears and frustrations of a divided country while yearning for justice and peace.
As the word “Mugician” is an impromptu hybrid of words, this album is an accumulation of Keyon’s eclectic tastes, with stylistic twists and turns everywhere taking cues from jazz, hip-hop, blues, rock, reggae, and rap. The new LP features an all-star list of collaborators, including Gary Clark Jr., Big K.R.I.T., Bilal, Pharoahe Monch and Robert Glasper. From spiritual chants and soulful singing to bombastic expressions of frustration and melodic pleas for understanding, Keyon’s arrangements color the different ways to hear the world in 2017.
If there are echoes of Miles Davis in Keyon’s style and sound, it’s no mere coincidence; Keyon played the trumpet sound of Don Cheadle playing Davis in his 2015 biopic Miles Ahead and on its Grammy-winning soundtrack. Don reflects on this and the birth of “The Mugician”, the nickname that came from that project, in the liner notes, which he contributed to the album.
As the word “Mugician” is an impromptu hybrid of words, this album is an accumulation of Keyon’s eclectic tastes, with stylistic twists and turns everywhere taking cues from jazz, hip-hop, blues, rock, reggae, and rap. The new LP features an all-star list of collaborators, including Gary Clark Jr., Big K.R.I.T., Bilal, Pharoahe Monch and Robert Glasper. From spiritual chants and soulful singing to bombastic expressions of frustration and melodic pleas for understanding, Keyon’s arrangements color the different ways to hear the world in 2017.
If there are echoes of Miles Davis in Keyon’s style and sound, it’s no mere coincidence; Keyon played the trumpet sound of Don Cheadle playing Davis in his 2015 biopic Miles Ahead and on its Grammy-winning soundtrack. Don reflects on this and the birth of “The Mugician”, the nickname that came from that project, in the liner notes, which he contributed to the album.
Keyon Harrold has become one of the most sought-after trumpeters in the world having been featured on nearly 100 albums spanning jazz, R&B, pop, gospel, blues, and hip-hop. Harrold has recorded with the world’s leading artists from Maxwell to Keith Richards and has toured with music’s most bold-faced names including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Common, Maxwell, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, D’Angelo and the Vanguard, and more. In 2016, Keyon released “Running (Refugee Song)” in collaboration with songwriting partner Andrea Pizziconias part of their initiative Compositions for a Cause. The song, also featuring Grammy Award-winning rapper Common and Grammy Award-winning singer Gregory Porter was included on Billboard’s list of “6 Songs Offering Hope & Perspective During Immigration Ban” this past January.
LINKS
https://www.keyonharrold.com
https://www.facebook.com/keyonharroldmusic/
LINE UP
Keyon Harrold – Trompet/vocals
Shedrick Mitchell – Piano/keyboards
Burniss Travis – Bass elec/acoustic
Charles Haynes – Drums
Nir Felder – Guitar
TERRITORY
Belgium, Luxembourg
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Currently no concerts. Stay tuned!