Keyon Harrold

Foreverland

Concord

The much-anticipated release, Foreverland, from trumpeter and composer Keyon Harrold, his first album in six years, is effectively two albums in one, the first part featuring a potpourri of guests and the second part showcasing Harrold leading various small combos. Doubtlessly the bevy of guests is due in part to the bigger budgets that a large label such as Concord can provide, and the high-profile names will surely raise Harrold’s stature. They are Common, Robert Glasper, Jean Baylor, PJ Morton, Laura Mvula, and Malaya (from American Idol no less). To be fair this is not new for Harrold as his previous 2017 The Mugician had Pharoahe Monch, Gary Clark Jr., Big K.R.I.T, Guy Torry, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Glasper. So, Harrold is a champion of this kind of eclecticism. Even names as big as Beyonce and Jay-Z, not to mention others who have associated themselves with Harrold. And this is a concept we have seen often with artists such as Butcher Brown, Lakecia Benjamin, and Glasper himself to name just a few of them. It worked brilliantly in Glasper’s mashup of jazz and R&B in R+R=Now, and Benjamin found immense success on her two albums, Pursuance and Phoenix. Butcher Brown received many accolades for their recent Solar Music as well.  Yet, you can guess where this writer is going – it can be overkill and does prove to be a mixed bag here.

Although Harrold is a brilliant trumpeter and adept at leading a small combo on instrumental tracks, this approach will likely draw a far larger audience than a conventional jazz album and he has built his reputation on his ability to incorporate R&B, hip-hop, and electronica into his sound.  This wide-ranging approach isn’t limited to the vocalists as the musicians include Chris Dave and Marcus Gilmore on drums, Nir Felder, Randy Runyon and Justus West on guitar, Burniss “Boom Travis and Brandon Owens on bass, Greg Phillinganes, BIGYUKI, Shedrick Mitchell and Jahari Stampley on piano/keyboards and Jahi Sundance on turntables. Harrold sings on some tracks in addition to playing trumpet throughout.

The album is bookended by two pieces, “Find Your Peace” and “Peace Beyond” that feature Common, Baylor, and Glasper. The opener begins with Common’s signature poetry followed by dense sonics formed by Harrold, Glasper, Stampley, West, Travis, Dave, and Sundance. Jean Baylor’s lush tones imbue the second R&B fueled sequence and Glasper solos impressively on Rhodes. It’s a lot to digest in one track that sets the tone for the album. “Beautiful Day” with PJ Morton follows in a similar vein with Dave’s hip-hop beats prominent once again in this joyous R&B romp rendered as a light samba by the trio of Morton on piano, Dave on the kit, and Harrold’s fluttering trumpet and flugelhorn. The lengthy title track features Harrold singing alongside Mvula as he sings about patiently waiting for his true love to find him. “Do you long for me or do you walk alone? / Ok, I’ll wait for you in this lonely city / Cause I hate waiting, please open the door,” with Mvula’s sultry response, “OK, I’ll wait for you here in this perfect dream / I’m so glad I don’t sleep, if this is the only time we have to meet.” As in the opener, there is an ebb and flow undulating quality with Harrold’s muted trumpet enhancing the dreamy effect. “Don’t Lie” plays as a late-night R&B ballad sung by Malaya above the ethereal accompaniment of Harrold’s trumpet, Stampley’s keys, Felder’s guitar, and the bass- drum tandem of Travis and Dave.

While the above tracks will draw the most airplay and streaming hits, for this writer the strength of the album lies in the instrumentals. “The Intellectual” has a slow burning hip-hop groove over which Harrold’s trumpet is stunningly lyrical over the underpinning bed of twin keyboards (Mitchell and Stampley), Runyon’s guitar and the steady bass-drum tandem. “Well Walk Now (Perseverance)” is the album’s lone dark track, an eerie soundscape crafted together with Stampley, the twin guitars of Felder and West, and stratospheric trumpet statements from Harrold reminiscent of his playing in the Miles Davis biopic, Miles Ahead. By contrast “Gotta Go (Outer Space)” is the most aggressive, hard driving cut with Harrold blowing fierce, incisive clusters backed by BIGYUKI and Marcus Gilmore in their lone appearance on the album. “Pictures” is mellow and dreamy with lush tones and a small vocal part from Harrold supported by pianist Phillinganes and bassist Owens in their only appearance as Dave returns on drums. In a weird way, the spiritual quality evokes saxophonist Pharoah Sanders who occasionally added vocals to his repertoire as well.

Harrold’s ambitious effort succeeds variably on both counts, with the edge going to the instrumental fare, which is remarkably strong.

• Jim Hynes

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