In May of 1961, at the height of his first great quintet, trumpeter Miles Davis took the stage at Carnegie Hall for a concert that has since become part of jazz history.
That night, Miles brought together his working quintet and the large ensemble arrangements of collaborator Gil Evans, presenting jazz in one of America’s most prestigious concert halls, a room more commonly associated with classical music than improvisation.
This week as the jazz world begins to celebrate what would have been Miles Davis’ 100th birthday, another trumpeter returns to Carnegie to honor that legacy: Keyon Harrold.
And in some ways, Keyon has been preparing for this moment his whole life.
Born in St. Louis, Miles’ hometown, Harrold grew up in the long shadow of Davis’ influence. Later, he contributed trumpet work to the soundtrack of the film Miles Ahead, performed with the Miles Electric Band, and built a career that stretches comfortably between jazz, hip-hop, soul and film music.
When I spoke with Keyon recently, I asked him how he thinks about honoring an artist whose entire philosophy was to never stay still. “I try to stand on his shoulders and try to be a really good stunt double… but at the same time be myself, respectfully,” he told me.
That tension between tradition and individuality feels especially important when the artist being celebrated is Miles Davis. After all, Miles famously refused to repeat himself. From bebop to cool jazz, modal music to fusion, he changed directions repeatedly, often leaving audiences behind before they caught up.
For Harrold, honoring Miles means understanding where he came from, and then continuing to move forward.
He put it this way: “You can only go as far forward as you go back. I’m not reinventing the wheel. I just want to roll the way I roll. But at the same time that doesn’t have to detract from what already exists. You take that and you add to the continuum.”
Keyon says learning to accept your musical influences is a bit like coming to understand your parents. At first, you resist what they’re telling you. You want to do your own thing. But eventually, you start to understand what they gave you.
As he told me: “When you learn from your parents… you say ‘I hear you but I’m going to do my own thing’. [...] As I get older I realize that’s the source. I’m able to speak in the way that I speak and I understand that I know where I came from.”
And the same is true for so many musical innovators who were shaped by Miles. Harrold points to musicians like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and Marcus Miller, all artists who, in his words, changed the game.
“Miles was an incredible example… the epitome of what it means to be an innovator… and to influence the greatest influences in music… and I am a beneficiary of that,” he said.
As a beneficiary, Harrold himself has never stayed in one lane. Over the years, he’s collaborated with artists as varied as David Sanborn, D'Angelo, Gregory Porter, Erykah Badu, Common, Beyoncé and PJ Morton. He told me, “I don’t limit it to just one thing. When you think about Miles, he was able to just grow and keep flooding the pipeline with dopeness.”
On May 16th - nearly 65 years to the day after Miles’ legendary Carnegie Hall Concert, Harrold takes the stage at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall to celebrate Miles’ centennial.
Miles Davis taught generations of musicians that honoring the past doesn’t mean standing still. Keyon Harrold learned the lesson.
“I’m excited to play some music in honor of Miles and at the same time do my thing and let people know where I come from,” he said.
You can watch my recent conversation with Keyon Harrold below, and listen to my 2024 episode of The Third Story with him here.
Watch the full interview:
