Artist Session: Keyon Harrold

This Artist Session is a career exploration program that gives insight on the music industry and creative process. This program will consist of a moderated conversation and interactive Q&A session and performance with GRAMMY nominated artist and trumpeter Keyon Harrold guest moderated by GRAMMY Museum VP of Education and Community Engagement Arin Canbolat and Co-moderated by Misael Martinez. 

Check-in: 12:30pm

Keyon Harrold Bio:

When Keyon Harrold is listing the influences that he turned to during the creation of his rich and evocative new album Foreverland (January 2024 /Concord), he cites the likes of Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Fela Kuti, John Coltrane, and, for a second, he becomes vulnerable — the list is too basic, too serious music listener starter pack. He is a jazz musician but in the most expansive sense, working with a list of dream collaborators: generational legends Keith Richards and Diana Ross; rap stars like Mac Miller and Nas; neo-soul icons Erykah Badu and D’Angelo; and modern soul stars Black Pumas and Leon Bridges. His circle of regular collaborators is formidable and includes his music industry mentor Common (who hired him for his first touring gig), his New School classmate Robert Glasper, and GRAMMY winners Maxwell, PJ Morton, Gregory Porter, and YEBBA. There is also his extensive touring and recording work with pop music royalty, Jay-Z and Beyonce. Harrold contributed all of the trumpet playing in Don Cheadle’s GRAMMY-winning Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead, playing to match Cheadle’s on-screen performances. Keyon has recorded two acclaimed solo records, 2009’s Introducing Keyon Harrold and 2017’s breakthrough release, The Mugician, which established Keyon as “a certified legend in the game”. Featuring Pharoahe Monch, Gary Clark, Jr., Big K.R.I.T., Guy Torry, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Robert Glasper, the record garnered praise from The New York Times (“stirring… consolidates elegy and exhortation”) and Billboard (“equal parts music and magic”). However, the origins of Foreverland begin not at the crest of a professional and artistic high but in the doldrums of COVID-19 lockdown. A pandemic birthday found Keyon adrift. It was a period of stagnation, of exhaustion in the wake of challenges both universal (global health catastrophe, racial injustice) and personal (the passing of his mother, the highly publicized and racially charged assault of his 14-year-old son). Looking for a break and a fresh perspective, recommendation from his brother and a friend had him headed to Vegas. But instead of the tables, Keyon hit the studio. The sessions were loose and exploratory, but with an artistic focus he had not felt in years. The resulting music was mesmerizing. With live music on pause, the rare luxury of time allowed Keyon to sculpt these largely improvised sounds into a shape that evoked and conveyed each emotion he was grasping at. It was a deliberate and thoughtful process. Foreverland is reflective, immediate, and uplifting. Foreverland is a family affair — pretty much every musician who appears on the record is a longtime friend, and Keyon accounts the record’s warmness to this dynamic. Each collaboration brings Foreverland into further focus. Foreverland is a triumph of resilience and empowerment. On Foreverland, Keyon takes life’s challenges head-on — and emerges, in both music and in life, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Misael Martinez:

Misael Martinez has over 26 years of experience in the youth development field. His dual-pronged insight and approach to business and artist development combined with a deep commitment to education have earned him recognition and awards by the Lawrence History Center, which selected Martinez as the recipient of the Eartha Dengler Award for his contributions to development, opportunity, and prosperity in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Most recently, Martinez’s awards and recognitions include serving as the NAACP Merrimack Valley Chapter 2021 keynote speaker and the 2023 Berklee College of Music Brass Day Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect Award recipient. Martinez’s years of contributions to marginalized communities have made him a much sought-after collaborator, and includes work on a global scale. His creative approach, sense of humor, and the deep joy he finds in his work have combined to make Martinez a seasoned visionary and skilled strategist. His experience working in public schools led him to work strictly in nonprofit, grass-roots, and music education programs. He dedicated himself full-time to directing the Hope Street Youth Center, a dynamic, grassroots, performing-arts based nonprofit he founded in 1998, which he renamed Movement City.

Martinez grew the program to serve hundreds of youth annually with an array of music, art, design, and technology-based programs. It is through this program that Berklee City Music established a partnership and Martinez prepared many students from Lawrence, Massachusetts, who later became Berklee City Music full-tuition college scholars. 

He currently serves on the President’s Council at Berklee College of Music, in addition to his role as assistant vice president of social entrepreneurship and creative youth development. As AVP, Martinez is responsible for the development and success of Berklee City Music’s creative youth development, including programming across performing arts, entrepreneurship, and technology production, City Music’s ambassador program, summer scholarships, and initiatives supporting the holistic development of youth and pathways to college. In addition to youth development work, Martinez supports the City Music Advisory Board, Office of the President, and Berklee’s strategies via operations, coupled with overseeing 46 program sites in 39 cities globally. His personal creative entrepreneurial pursuits include serving as the founder and owner of Missobrown.