Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
pianist, composer and
producer. In 2006,
Josh Tyrangiel
Josh Tyrangiel is an American journalist. He was previously the deputy managing editor of ''TIME'' magazine and an editor at ''Bloomberg Businessweek''.Stephanie Clifford (November 17, 2009"Josh Tyrangiel Named Editor of BusinessWeek"/ref> In Ju ...
, music critic for ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space."
Early life
Cyrus Chestnut was born in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, in 1963, the son of McDonald (a retired post-office employee and church pianist) and Flossie (a city social services worker and church choir director).
Chestnut began learning the piano at the age of seven, and in his boyhood played at Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
By the age of nine, he was studying classical music at the
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
.
In 1985, Chestnut earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging from Boston's
Berklee College of Music.
Jazz career
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chestnut worked with
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
,
Terence Blanchard
Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...
,
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...
, and other bandleaders. He joined the band of jazz vocalist
Betty Carter in the early 1990s and appeared on her 1992 album ''It's Not About the Melody.'' That same year, he recorded his first albums as a bandleader, ''The Nutman Speaks'' and ''Nut''. Chesnut has continued to work and record as a bandleader into the 21st century.
In 2006,
Telarc
Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner (recording engineer), Jack Renner and Robert Woods (producer), Robert Woods. ...
released ''Genuine Chestnut'', his first album for the label. On it he is accompanied by his regular trio of Michael Hawkins, bass and Neal Smith, drums. Additional artists on this session include
Russell Malone, guitar and Steven Kroon, percussion. It includes jazz interpretations of some well-known pop numbers of the past half-century, including "
If", the early 1970s soft-rock ballad by
Bread. "This song has been with me ever since the sixth grade," Chestnut recalled, "I had to play it for my English teacher's wedding. I've played it in many and various contexts. I actually played it in a Top 40 band when I was just out of school. A lot of time has passed, but then recently I just started thinking about it again." Chestnut's own "Mason–Dixon Line" is one of the album's high points, a joyful bebop number.
Discography
As leader
As sideman
With
Gerald Albright
Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...
* ''Giving Myself to You'' (
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, 1995)
With
Carl Allen
* ''Testimonial'' (Atlantic, 1995)
With Carl Allen &
Rodney Whitaker
* ''Get Ready'' (
Mack Avenue
Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
Background
Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...
, 2009)
With Tiffany Austin
* ''Unbroken'' (Con Alma, 2018)
With
Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards.
Biography
Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Wor ...
* ''The Blues Chronicles: Tales of Life'' (Atlantic, 1996)
With
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performance ...
* ''So Many Stars'' (Sony, 1995)
With Alexander Berenson
* ''Take Me With You'' (Butman Music, 2010)
With
Dee Dee Bridgewater
* ''
Prelude to a Kiss: The Duke Ellington Album'' (Phillips, 1996)
With
Jeri Brown
* ''Fresh Start'' (Justin Time, 1996)
With
Ronnie Burrage
Ronnie Burrage (born James Ronaldo Burrage October 19, 1959) is an American jazz drummer. His style draws from jazz, funk, and soul.
Career
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Burrage sang in the St. Louis Cathedral boys' choir ...
* ''Shuttle'' (Sound Hills, 1993)
With
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway (born May 30, 1958) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and actress. She wrote and sang the theme song for the TV series ''The Nanny''.
Career
A native of Chicago, her father, John Callaway, was a journalist and her mot ...
* ''
To Ella with Love'' (Sin-Drome Records, 1996)
With
Betty Carter
* ''
It's Not About the Melody'' (Verve, 1992)
With
James Carter
* ''
In Carterian Fashion
''In Carterian Fashion'' is the 6th album led by saxophonist James Carter (musician), James Carter recorded in 1998 and released on the Atlantic Records, Atlantic label.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow had awarded the album 4 star ...
'' (Atlantic, 1998)
* ''
Gold Sounds'' (Brown Brothers, 2005)
With
Michael Carvin
* ''Between Me and You'' (Muse, 1989)
* ''Revelation'' (Muse, 1991)
With
Freddy Cole
Lionel Frederick Cole (October 15, 1931 – June 27, 2020) was an American jazz singer and pianist whose recording career spanned almost 70 years. He was the brother of musicians Nat King Cole, Eddie Cole, and Ike Cole, father of Lionel Cole, a ...
* ''Always'' (
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
, 1995)
* ''A Circle of Love'' (Fantasy, 1996)
* ''To The Ends of the Earth'' (Fantasy, 1997)
* ''Le Grand Freddy'' (Fantasy, 1999)
With
Carla Cook
Carla Cook is a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist.
Biography
Cook was drawn to a life of music at an early age. As a student at Cass Technical High School she played string bass in the school orchestra, studied piano and voice on weekends, and ...
* ''It's All About Love'' (MaxJazz, 1999)
* ''Dem Bones'' (MaxJazz, 2001)
* ''Simply Natural'' (MaxJazz, 2002)
With
Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet
* ''The Juliet Letters'' (Warner Bros., 1993)
With Dee Daniels
* ''State of the Art'' (
Criss Cross, 2013)
* ''Intimate Conversations'' (Origin, 2014)
With
Michael Dease
Michael Patrick Dease (born August 25, 1982) is an American jazz tenor and bass trombonist, composer and producer. He also plays saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass and piano.
Biography
Michael Dease was born in Augusta, Georgia and attended ...
* ''Grace'' (Jazz Legacy, 2010)
With
Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
and the
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...
Band
* ''Funky New Orleans'' (Metro, 2000)
With Cynthia Felton
* ''Afro Blue: The Music of Oscar Brown Jr.'' (CD Baby, 2012)
* ''Freedom Jazz Dance'' (CD Baby, 2012)
* ''Save Your Love For Me'' (CD Baby, 2014)
With The
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band
* ''I'm BeBoppin' Too'' (Half Note, 2009)
With
Jimmy Greene
James Sidney Greene, Jr. (born February 24, 1975) is an American jazz saxophonist, gospel musician, recording artist, record producer, and music professor. He started his music career in 1997, and has since released eight studio albums. His eig ...
* ''
Beautiful Life'' (
Mack Avenue
Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
Background
Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...
, 2014)
With
Mark Gross
* ''Blackside'' (Jazz Legacy, 2012)
With
Roy Hargrove
* ''
With the Tenors of Our Time
''With the Tenors of Our Time'' is an album by Roy Hargrove.
Track listing
# "Soppin' the Biscuit" (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Stanley Turrentine) – 7:59
# "When We Were One" (composer Johnny Griffin, featuring Johnny Griffin) – ...
'' (Verve, 1994)
With
Donald Harrison
Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...
* ''Full Circle'' (Sweet Basil, 1990)
* ''For Art's Sake'' (
Candid, 1991)
* ''Indian Blues'' (Candid, 1995)
* ''Big Chief'' (Past Perfect, 2002)
With
Vincent Herring
Vincent Dwayne Herring (born November 19, 1964) is an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, and educator. Known for his fiery and soulful playing in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Nat Adderley in the earlier stages of h ...
* ''
Folklore: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (MusicMasters, 1994)
* ''Don't Let It Go'' (MusicMasters, 1995)
* ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (MusicMasters, 1996)
* ''The Uptown Shuffle'' (
Smoke Session, 2014)
* ''Hard Times'' (Smoke Sessions, 2017)
With Laird Jackson
* ''Quiet Flame'' (Venus, 2016)
With
Denise Jannah
* ''I Was Born In Love With You'' (
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
, 1995)
* ''A Heart Full of Music'' (Timeless, 2000)
With
George Kawaguchi
* ''Between Me and You'' (Muse, 1989)
* ''Revelation'' (Muse, 1991)
* ''Plays Herbie Hancock'' (King Japan, 2004)
With The Keystone Quartet
* ''A Love Story'' (32 Jazz, 2000)
With
Kevin Mahogany
Kevin Bryant Mahogany (July 30, 1958 – December 17, 2017) was an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. Particularly known for his scat singing, his singing style has been compared with those of Billy Eckstine, Joe William ...
* ''Another Time Another Place'' (
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, 1997)
With
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
* ''The Marciac Suite'' (Columbia, 1999)
* ''Higher Ground'' (Blue Note, 2005)
With
Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...
* ''
Gettin' to It
''Gettin' to It'' is the debut studio album of American jazz bassist Christian McBride. The album was released in 1995 via Verve label.
Background
The album was produced by Richard Seidel and Don Sickler, and released by Verve Records on 1 Sep ...
'' (
Verve, 1995)
With
Bette Midler
* ''Bathhouse Betty'' (Warner Bros., 1998)
With
Charnett Moffett
Charnett Moffett (June 10, 1967 – April 11, 2022) was an American jazz bassist.
Moffett began playing bass in the family band, touring the Far East in 1975 at the age of eight. In the mid-1980s, he played with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Ma ...
* ''Music from Our Soul'' (Motéma Music, 2017)
With
George Mraz
George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 – 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephan ...
* ''Bottom Lines'' (Milestone, 1997)
* ''Duke's Place'' (Milestone, 1999)
With
Roy Nathanson
Roy Jay Nathanson (born May 17, 1951) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and teacher. He became the leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. They have ...
* ''Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill'' (Six Degrees, 2000)
With
Marilyn Scott
* ''Every Time We Say Goodbye'' (
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, 2008)
With Chiara Pancaldi''
* ''I walk a Little Faster'' (Challenge Records, 2015)
With
Madeleine Peyroux
* ''
Dreamland'' (Atlantic, 1996)
With
Morris Robinson
Morris DeRhon Robinson (born March 18, 1969) is an American bass opera singer and former All-American college football player who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, at Carnegie Hall, at La Scala in Milan, Italy, at the Sydney Opera House ...
* ''Going Home'' (Decca, 2007)
With Jackie Ryan
* ''Doozy'' (Open Arts, 2008)
With Ameen Saleem
* ''The Groove Lab'' (Jando Music, 2013)
With Andy Scott
* ''Angels'' (Jazz Legacy, 2015)
With
Jimmy Scott
James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs.
After ...
* ''Mood Indigo'' (Milestone, 2000)
* ''Moon Glow'' (Milestone, 2003)
With
Marilyn Scott
* ''Every Time We Say Goodbye'' (
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, 2008)
With
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...
* ''By Request: Bud Shank Meets the Rhythm Section'' (Milestone, 1997)
With Jae Sinnett
* ''Blue Jae'' (Valley Vue, 1992)
* ''House and Sinnett'' (Positive Music, 1994)
* ''Listen'' (Heart Music, 1997)
With
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...
* ''Taylor Made at the Kennedy Center'' (Kennedy Center, 2005)
With
Joris Teepe
Joris Teepe is a Dutch jazz bassist, composer, arranger, and big-band leader. He plays contemporary jazz, bebop, and free jazz.
Biography
Teepe studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In 1992 the left-handed bassist moved to New York City, wh ...
and The
Don Braden
Don Braden (born November 20, 1963) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.https://jazzbakery.org/events/saxophoniest-don-braden-quartet-presents-earth-wind-and-wonder saxophonist Don Braden Quartet presents Earth Wind and Wonder
Career
Braden w ...
Quintet
* ''Pay As You Earn'' (Mons, 1995)
With
Tim Warfield
* ''Cool Blue'' (Criss Cross, 1995)
* ''A Whisper in the Midnight'' (Criss Cross, 1996)
* ''Gentle Warrior'' (Criss Cross, 1998)
* ''Jazz Is'' (Criss Cross, 2002)
* ''Eye of the Beholder'' (Criss Cross, 2013)
With
Sadao Watanabe
* ''Remembrance'' (Verve, 1999)
With
Kim Waters
Kim Waters (born March 20, 1965) is an American jazz artist born in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Early life
Waters grew up in Harford County, Maryland. Waters learned how to play the saxophone at a young age. He attended C. Milton Wright High ...
* ''Tribute'' (Warlock, 1992)
With
Rodney Whitaker
* ''Children of the Light'' (Koch, 1996)
With
Phil Wilson's Rainbow Band
* ''Latin American Tour'' (Shiah, 1985)
With
Steve Wilson
* ''Step Lively'' (Criss Cross, 1995)
With Joh Yamada
* ''Bluestone'' (Milestone, 1999)
With
Dave Young
* ''Two by Two, Volume Two'' (Justin Time, 1996)
* ''Side by Side'' (Justin Time, 1996)
Compilations
References
External links
Cyrus Chestnut official websiteHip online interviewJazz Police reviewInterview with and performance by Cyrus Chestnutat NPR.org
Cyrus Chestnut, pianist, bandleader
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chestnut, Cyrus
1963 births
Living people
American jazz pianists
American male pianists
African-American pianists
Musicians from Baltimore
People from Harford County, Maryland
Atlantic Records artists
Berklee College of Music alumni
20th-century American pianists
Baptists from Maryland
Jazz musicians from Maryland
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
WJ3 Records artists
HighNote Records artists
Smoke Sessions Records artists
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American musicians