Keyon Harrold did not grow up near jazz history. He grew up inside it. Raised in St. Louis, a city that produced Count Basie and Charlie Parker, with Miles Davis living just across the river in East St. Louis, Harrold was surrounded by greatness before he ever picked up a trumpet. Decades later, the Grammy nominated trumpeter, vocalist, composer and producer is now the one carrying that lineage forward.
Born into the fire
Harrold traces his start to a family that treated music as a given. His grandfather introduced him to the legends of jazz early, and the pull of the trumpet proved stronger than anything else pulling at him. “The music just hit me from the beginning, baptized into the fire, because my family was into music,” he said. Miles Davis was a constant reference point, spoken about with the weight of local pride. “That was always talked about, and it was something that I always aspired to be like.”
A career built on range
From St. Louis, Harrold built one of the more versatile resumes in modern music. He recorded and performed alongside Jay-Z on American Gangster, joined Nas as a signed artist on Mass Appeal, and arranged and toured with Maxwell on BLACKsummers’night. His most treasured work, he says, came during his years with D’Angelo. He performed as the only other musician on stage during D’Angelo’s Verzuz performance, a moment he describes as among his most unforgettable. “To tour with him, record with him, and to perform with him for a couple years was everything to me.”
That range extended to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2025, where he performed tributes to Sly Stone, D’Angelo and OutKast, including a live performance of SpottieOttieDopaliscious. “I’m a jazz musician, but I’m not just a jazz musician,” he said. “I’m an artist who respects all kinds of music, all art forms, and I like to take my music everywhere. I want people to feel the vibrations.”
Keeping Keyon Harrold true to Miles
Now Harrold stands at the center of something larger than his own catalog. As the trumpeter leading the Miles Electric Band during Davis’s centennial year, he approaches the role with both reverence and a clear sense of purpose. He points to Kind of Blue, Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew as records that never stopped shaping him. “People trust me to carry on the mantle, to carry the lineage forward,” he said. “I don’t take that for granted.”
Working alongside Vince Wilburn, Davis’s nephew, and the Miles Davis Foundation, Harrold sees his role as one of access. “If you want to get into jazz, Miles Davis is ground zero.” He also draws a direct line between Davis’s habit of collaborating with the biggest names of his era and his own work alongside Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Common and Mos Def. “Miles would have been totally into that. From him working with Prince and Jimi Hendrix, all of those people were pushing music and pushing boundaries. I feel like I’ve taken that on to do the same.”
Atlanta and the road ahead
The Miles Electric Band heads to Atlanta Symphony Hall on May 22nd for the opening night of the Atlanta Jazz Festival. “The band is electric in every sense. It’s magnificent, the energy is unforgiving. You will have a great time and be transported to different spaces,” Harrold said.
The centennial celebration continues with dates around the world. New music is on the way alongside his 2024 album Foreverland. He is also the artistic director of MATI, Music at the Intersection Festival, returning to St. Louis from July 17th to 19th, with Killer Mike, Jon Batiste, PJ Morton, Andra Day and Moonchild among those on the bill.
“The year’s looking promising,” he said.