May 6th, 2006

Cyrus Chestnut - Solo Piano
May 6th, 2006 at 7PM
Steinway Piano Gallery
4104 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
Coral Gables, FL 33146


Baltimore native Cyrus Chestnut first learned piano from his father at age five, and was performing in church by age 7. By age 9 he was studying classical music at the Peabody Institute. Absorbing the music that surrounded him throughout childhood—heavy doses of gospel, R&B, blues,and jazz, as well as classical, he finally yielded to the power of jazz and enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. As he evolved a personal style of multi-generational influences from Jelly Roll Morton to Art Tatum to Hank Jones, Red Garland and Tommy Flanagan, as well as Peterson, Chestnut received Berklee’s Eubie Blake Fellowship, Oscar Peterson Scholarship, and Quincy Jones Scholarship, graduating with a degree in jazz composition and arranging. He earned his performance credentials with John Hendricks, Terence Blanchard, and Wynton Marsalis before joining Betty Carter for a two-year residency in the early 90s. Chestnut cut his first recordings as leader for Alfa Records before signing with Atlantic in 1993.

Following the abrupt termination of his successful run with Atlantic and a short-lived partnership with Warner Brothers, Chestnut spent some time reevaluating his music. In a recent Downbeat interview (March 2006), he noted that he is “finally getting to a different realm of playing and composition… I can feel myself starting to make that turn…. I wanted the focus to be on conveying the emotion and passion of what I’m trying to say.” In fall 2004, Chestnut took what seemed to be a new path, collaborating with James Carter, Reginald Veal, and Ali Jackson to reinterpret the music of rock band Pavement, resulting in the release of Gold Sounds (Brown Brothers). Not only did this mark a funky detour but an electronic turn for Chestnut on organ and Fender Rhodes (he also played some Fender Rhodes on Carla Cook’s Simply Natural in 2002). Next, with a contract with Telarc, he took his new focus into the studio, recording Genuine Chestnut.

There is a peaceful, almost meditative calm to Chestnut's playing. Even when he's playing a up-tempo number at a breakneck pace, there is no feeling of chaos. You never think for a moment that Chestnut is going to lose it; just the opposite, he radiates a calm control, like a Zen monk.