StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Keyon Harrold sampler

This week, let's peruse some videos featuring trumpeter and St. Louis native Keyon Harrold, who now lives in NYC but is coming home to perform on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 at Jazz at the Bistro.

Harrold will be part of an ensemble including pianist Lawrence Fields and drummer Kimberly Thompson, two more former St. Louisans with burgeoning careers playing jazz, plus saxophonist Adam Larson, who grew up not far from here, just up I-55 in Normal, Illinois. They'll be working with students in local schools and in Jazz St. Louis' own educational programs during a week-long residency, culminating in a weekend of shows at the Bistro.

Harrold's star has risen considerably in the last couple of years, thanks in no small part to his involvement in Don Cheadle's film Miles Ahead, which came out last spring and featured Harrold performing on portions of the soundtrack composed by keyboardist Robert Glasper. Already well-positioned at the intersection of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B, thanks to previous work with performers including D'Angelo and Jay Z, Harrold seems about to become even better-known in the near future. So, here's an opportunity to check out some recent video clips depicting the range of his skills...

The first video up above shows him performing his song "Stay This Way" at a gig in January of this year at the Blue Note in NYC, aided by rapper Big K.R.I.T. and singer Bilal.

After the jump, you can see Harrold performing "Lullabye," recorded in June 2016 when he was "down under" playing the Melbourne International Jazz Festival in Australia with Marcus Strickland (saxophone), Charles Haynes (drums), Kyle Miles (bass) and Mitch Henry (piano).

Below that, there's an excerpt from a show Harrold did in January 2016 at the NYC venue Subculture, and then, from a gig at Dizzy's in NYC later in 2016, an inter-generational jam on "Green Dolphin Street" featuring Harrold and the veteran saxophonist Dave Liebman.

The next-to-last clip is the product of another of Harrold's high-profile projects last year. It's the music video for "Running (Refugee Song)," which was co-written and produced by Harrold and Andrea Pizziconi and performed by singer Gregory Porter, the rapper Common, and a band featuring Harrold and fellow St. Louis natives Shedrick Mitchell on keyboards and Jahmal Nichols on bass. The song was released as a single in June 2016 to coincide with World Refugee Day, with proceeds from sales of the track going to organizations that help refugees around the world.

Finally, you can see an interview with Harrold recorded in January of this year during his run at the Blue Note for the online program The Pace Report.

For more about Keyon Harrold, check out his interview with the website Okay Player from January of this year; his 2016 interview with the Australian site Beaver of the Beats; and his 2015 chat with Revive Music.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...