Keyon Harrold occupies a lot of space at this festival, and we’ve seen him perform three times, which just goes to show how important he is to the FIJM’s artistic direction. Right from the start at the Gesù, he performed with his core group on Saturday June 29: Harrold (trumpet and vocals), Shedrick Mitchell (piano), Randy Runyon (guitar) Burniss Travis (electric bass), and Charles Haynes (drums).
With the exception of a few more conceptual moments, Keyon Harold’s music is close to soul and R&B, although the jazz harmonies are more perceptible in the transitions (bridges) between intro, chorus and conclusion. And also in the solos: Charles Haynes is in the tradition of Gene Lake, Chris Dave, Justin Brown and Kendrick Scott, in short a virtuoso of contemporary jazz and jazz groove who has integrated several hip-hop rhythmic patterns, some of them developed by the brilliant (and late) beatmaker J-Dilla.
The bass is upright, the guitar circumspect and the keyboards focused on harmony and rhythmic support. On the show side, Keyon Harold is a friendly communicator, his physique imposing but the tone of his voice soft and placid, sung or spoken.
A three-day residency in Montreal enabled Keyon Harrold to invite his own ” sister “, an authentic power singer, and also Laya, another completely unknown recruit, of whom he was full of praise, and with good reason – lascivious and sensual phrasing, circumspect ascents in power, very tasteful vocalizations, magnificent expressivity.
Between soul/R&B and groovy jazz, Keyon Harrold has played with all the big names in these stylistic categories in the USA. He’s one of the new stars of the FIJM zone in 2024. Clearly, the aim is to bring raw, no-holds-barred fun back to the tastes of new generations of jazz lovers. Keyon Harrold is the perfect illustration.
