Jazz artist Keyon Harrold’s album ‘Foreverland’ imbued with ‘dopeness’ – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The shows also merit attention because they will spotlight Harrold’s new album, “Foreverland,” which was released just one week prior.

It’s his first album since 2017’s “Magician,” and features songs about empowerment, positivity in the face of hardship and wisdom gained through experiences both good and bad. And it boasts an impressive cast of guest stars that includes Harrold’s friend and mentor Common, longtime colleague Robert Glasper, Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton and British singer Laura Mvula, among others.

So what took him so long to come up with this one?

“I like to put things out when I feel they’re ready,” Harrold says by phone from his home in Los Angeles; “when they say exactly what it is I want them to say. I’m always creating, always writing, always performing. So it’s just a matter of timing and this is the right time.”

Then, too, he’s been busy. In addition to the Jazz St. Louis advisory position, an appointment that wraps up this year, Harrold has been scoring films and TV shows — notably both seasons of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” the first with Glasper and the second with both Glasper and Jeff Beal — plus doing sessions for high-profile artists such as Beyonce, Common, Nas, Gary Clark Jr., Gregory Porter, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson, Leon Bridges and others.

The message and general vibe Harrold is trying to communicate with the album, he says, is “Life is what we make it. We get thrown all kinds of curveballs — the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between. And our perspective and our disposition is ultimately what’s coming out of us and what we can give back.”

More than anything, he adds, the album “is about making a statement and trying to add some kind of uplift to people’s lives.”

In addition to the guest vocals, “Foreverland” features another lead voice not previously out front on Harrold’s records: his own. Harrold sings or speaks on five tracks.

“It’s the first time that I’ve totally committed to being an artist as a singer,” he says. “I’ve always done my background vocals and some other things, and when I’m creating, I always do the reference vocals, then give somebody else direction on how they should do their part. And people would be like, ‘You sound pretty good. I’d love to hear you sing.’ It gave me the confidence to push forward and own my gifts, you know?”

Here’s what Harrold has to say about some of the tracks on “Foreverland”:

· “Beautiful Day,” the latest single, which features PJ Morton: “It’s a song that says, ‘It’s a beautiful day because I say it is. It has nothing to do with anybody else or if it’s actually sunny outside. It’s about how I see it.’ There are many different perspectives that we have that can be blown out of proportion. If we can just scale it back and look at the beautiful and the blessings … an attitude of gratitude goes a long way.”

· “Find Your Peace,” which features Common: “It’s just an honor that he’s on this song. It goes along with what we were talking about, finding enough space for yourself and recognizing that everybody else is here, but it’s really all about you, how you look at things.”

· The title track, which features Laura Mvula and drummer Chris Dave: “It’s about the longing that takes you somewhere where you wish you could be with somebody or you constantly want something and know that it is possible if you just push forward. Everything is possible in Foreverland, even if in reality it’s impossible. In Foreverland, you can own your own bliss.”

The list of artists Harrold has recorded or performed live with is staggering: There’s Jay-Z, Rihanna, Eminem, Maxwell, Mac Miller and Snoop Dogg, as well as those mentioned above. But whether he’s playing his own music or working on someone else’s, Harrold doesn’t merely ignore genre restrictions. He more or less denies that they exist.

“To me, music is gumbo,” he says. “Growing up in St. Louis, obviously, we have a big background in jazz and blues and gospel. That’s the way I grew up. But moving around, my first professional gig was a hip hop gig (with Common).”

From there, Harrold’s musical journey took him through the Roots, D’Angelo, Roy Hargrove and others. “I had a lot of influences,” he says. “I still do. I think Miles Davis is just the epitome of pushing things ahead. If you don’t keep adding these little special nuggets of inspiration from different genres, the music will die.”

Continuing his gumbo metaphor, Harrold says all of those ingredients make up “a proverbial roux of dopeness. You keep adding to it, keep adding to it, and all of a sudden, it’s like gravy.

“I love all the elements,” he concludes. “I love hip hop, I love rock, I love jazz, I love the spoken word. I love it all.”