Cyrus Chestnut

Cyrus Chestnut, Oslo Jazz Festival 2016

Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963 in Baltimore , Maryland ) is an American jazz , gospel and classical pianist.

Life

Chestnut received his first piano training from his father and at the age of seven he played the piano in the Mount Calvary Star Baptist Church in his hometown. He attended the Peabody Institute and studied jazz composition and arrangement at Berklee College of Music from 1981 to 1985 . There he received the Eubie Blake membership in 1982, the Oscar Peterson scholarship in 1983, the Quincy Jones scholarship in 1984. He taught himself music history, studied the work of jazz master pianists such as Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly and Hank Jones, and the work of gospel artists such as Clara Ward , Charles Taylor , and Shirley Caesar . He studied classical music, composition and performance practice. He worked as a sideman with musicians such as Donald Harrison , Terence Blanchard , Wynton Marsalis , Freddie Hubbard , Branford Marsalis , Chick Corea , Dizzy Gillespie , George Adams , James Moody , Jon Hendricks , Joe Williams and in Betty Carter's band .

Since the early 1990s he has released albums as a band leader and as a soloist ("Blessed Quietness", 1996) on Atlantic Records and the Japanese label Alfa Jazz. In his record projects he worked a. a. with musicians like Christian McBride , James Carter , Joe Lovano , Ron Carter , Billy Higgins , Gary Bartz , Stefon Harris and Lewis Nash . He has also performed in groups such as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra , the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and appeared in Robert Altman's film Kansas City .

personal data
SURNAME	Chestnut, Cyrus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American jazz and gospel and classical pianist
DATE OF BIRTH	17th January 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH	Baltimore , Maryland, USA