Back in 1982, Wynton Marsalis was the virtuosic jazz trumpeter taking the scene by storm, to the acclaim of luminary figures Art Blakey and Ron Carter. Now, with three decades of musical success behind him, the venerable jazz giant hails Keyon Harrold “the future of the trumpet”.
Harrold performs at Band on the Wall for the first time on Tuesday 10th April, with DJ Tina Edwards (EZH/Worldwide FM) supporting and British pianist Ashley Henry – hot off his first major label release – joining him on stage.
Harrold’s Ferguson roots are significant to the recent chapters of his musical story. In the wake of the devastating police shooting that took the life of Michael Brown in 2014, the people of his native St. Louis suburb ‘tore into America’s national consciousness’ with their ensuing acts of protest and defiance. Those events weighed heavily on his acclaimed 2017 LP The Mugician, although the record examined our times…‘through a far wider lens than any one tragedy’. An opus lifted by electronic production, patois lyricism, Chicago blues and RnB flavour – it was described as ‘a sonic blend of past, present and future’ by Downbeat and is one of 2017’s most emotionally-charged, under-the-radar jazz releases.
Ashley Henry is the ideal musician to sit in with Harrold. Attuned in equal measure to contemporary jazz and golden-era hip-hop; listening to the London-based pianist and U.S. trumpeter’s music side-by-side might suggest they’re kindred spirits. Henry released his major label debut with The RE:ensemble earlier this year, reworking the music of Nas and demonstrating his own accomplishment as a composer, arranger and performer. Fresh from a shows at SXSW – where he and his London-bred counterparts took the city by storm – he’s certain to bring some fire to proceedings alongside Keyon’s full ensemble.
Tina Edwards spins tunes before and after the show. The Worldwide FM DJ and EZH founder knows the music inside out, having curated the bill for the Jazz FM award-nominated CHICAGOXLONDON festival last year. Her latest Worldwide FM broadcast featured music from Sons Of Kemet, Yazmin Lacey and Sans Soucis Experience live in session. We recommend you check it out below!
