Early life

Cyrus Chestnut was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1963, son of McDonald (a retired post-office employee and church organist) and Flossie (a city social services worker and church choir director). Chestnut started his musical career at the age of six, playing piano at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in his hometown. By the age of nine, he was studying classical music at the Peabody Institute. In 1985, Chestnut earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging from Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, Chestnut was awarded the Eubie Blake Fellowship (1982), the Quincy Jones Scholarship (1983), and the Oscar Peterson Scholarship (1984).

Later life and career

Chestnut toured as pianist for Jon Hendricks, 1986-88; Terrence Blanchard, 1988-90; Donald Harrison, 1988-90; Wynton Marsalis, 1991; and the Betty Carter Trio, 1991-93. His association with Carter significantly affected his outlook and approach to music, confirming his already iconoclastic instincts. Carter advised him to "take chances" and "play things I've never heard," Chestnut said.

In 1993, at the age of 30, Chestnut signed with Atlantic Records, releasing the critically acclaimed Revelation (1993), followed by The Dark Before The Dawn (1994) (the album debuted in the sixth spot on the Billboard Jazz Charts), Earth Stories (1995) and then Cyrus Chestnut (1998). Chestnut has also performed and/or recorded with, Freddy Cole, Bette Midler, Jon Hendricks, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Scott, Chick Corea, Isaac Hayes, Kevin Mahogany, Dizzy Gillespie, and opera diva Kathleen Battle, most notably on the Sony Classical recording "So Many Stars". Their shared church roots resulted in such a positive chemistry between Battle and Chestnut that he then joined the soprano on a fall 1996 U.S. Tour. Later that year came Blessed Quietness: A Collection of Hymns, Spirituals and Carols (1996), an album of traditional numbers instilled with the gospel and blues Chestnut grew up listening to. In addition to appearing on the soundtrack to director Robert Altman's 1996 feature film Kansas City, Chestnut also made his big screen debut portraying a Count Basie-inspired pianist.

In 2000, Chestnut signed with manager Bruce Garfield, who convinced him to collaborate with Vanessa L. Williams, Brian McKnight, The Manhattan Transfer and The Boys' Choir of Harlem on A Charlie Brown Christmas. In 2001, he released Soul Food featuring bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lewis Nash and guest soloists including James Carter, Stefon Harris, Wycliffe Gordon and Marcus Printup. This album was one of Down Beat′s best records of 2002 and ascended to "Top 10" on the Jazz Charts.

In 2006, Chestnut released his first album, Genuine Chestnut, on Telarc International Records. 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. Chestnut continually tours with his trio, playing live at jazz festivals around the world as well as clubs and concert halls. His leadership and prowess as a soloist has also led him to be a first call for the piano chair in many big bands including the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra. Chestnut is currently represented by Addeo Music International (AMI).

Discography

As leader

Year	Title	Genre	Label
1992	The Nutman Speaks	Jazz	Alfa Jazz
1992	The Nutman Speaks Again	Jazz	Alfa Jazz
1992	Nut	Jazz	Evidence/Alfa Jazz
1993	Another Direction	Jazz	Evidence
1993	Revelation	Jazz	Atlantic
1994	Dark Before the Dawn	Jazz	Atlantic
1995	Earth Stories	Jazz	Atlantic
1996	Blessed Quietness: Collection of Hymns, Spirituals and Carols	Gospel	Atlantic
1998	Cyrus Chestnut	Jazz	Atlantic
2000	A Charlie Brown Christmas	Jazz	Atlantic
2001	Soul Food	Jazz	Atlantic
2003	You Are My Sunshine	Jazz	Warner
2006	Genuine Chestnut	Jazz	Telarc International
2007	Cyrus Plays Elvis	Jazz	Koch
2009	Spirit	Jazz	Jazz Legacy
2013	Soul Brother Cool	Jazz	WJ3 Records
2015	A Million Colors in Your Mind	Jazz	Highnote

As sideman

With Betty Carter

• It's Not About the Melody (1992)

With James Carter

• In Carterian Fashion (Atlantic, 1998)

With Vincent Herring

• The Uptown Shufle (Smoke Sessions, 2013)

With Phil Wilson

• Latin American Tour (1985)

Compilations

Year	Title	Genre	Label	Notes
1994	Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents: The Fire of the Fundamentals	Jazz	Sony	with Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, Betty Carter, Chris Thomas, Christian McBride, et al.
1999	Essential Young Lions Vol. 1	Jazz	Hip-O Records	with Roy Hargrove, Larry Goldings Trio, Stefon Harris, Donald Harrison, The Benny Green Trio, Stefon Harris, et al.
2000	Piano Grand! A Smithsonian Celebration	classical, jazz and rock & roll	Sony	with Diana Krall, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Dave Brubeck, Billy Joel, Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Levin, et al.
2003	Torch: A Six Degrees Collection of Modern Torch Songs	Jazz	Six Degrees	with Cassandra Wilson, Bugge Wesseltoft, Roy Nathanson, Sylk 130, Elvis Costello, dZihan & Kamien, Sarah Cracknell, et al.
2007	Funky Jazz Party, Vol. 2: Love Jams	Jazz	Atlantic	with Anita Baker, Steve Cole, Wayman Tisdale, Gerald Albright, Brian Culbertson, Rick Braun, et al.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]