Cyrus Chestnut - Collection (1993-2013)

An adept jazz pianist, Cyrus Chestnut balances his lithe technical skill with a robust, soulful style that speaks to his deep gospel roots and love of swinging hard bop. Having grown up playing in the church, Chestnut learned early on how to infuse his swinging, classically trained style with a warm gospel sound. It was a style he perfected in the late '80s and early '90s as a sideman, backing legendary vocalists Jon Hendricks and Betty Carter, as well as with instrumentalists like Donald Harrison and Wynton Marsalis. As a leader of his own groups, he has collaborated with well-respected rhythm section players including Christian McBride, Carl Allen, Clarence Penn, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, and others. Often working in a trio, as on 2016's Natural Essence with Buster Williams and Lenny White, or with guest artists as on 2001's Soul Food, he displays his virtuosic skill and mastery of the jazz tradition.

Tracks:



1993 - Revelation

01. Blues for Nita (Chestnut) - 6:22
02. Elegie (Massenet) - 6:23
03. Lord, Lord, Lord (Chestnut) - 6:10
04. Macdaddy (Chestnut) - 3:25
05. Sweet Hour of Prayer (Trad.) - 2:43
06. Little Ditty (Chestnut) - 7:19
07. 187 (Chestnut) - 6:22
08. Dilemmas (Chestnut) - 6:35
09. Revelation (Chestnut) - 2:40
10. Proverbial Lament (Chestnut) - 5:03
11. Cornbread Pudding (Chestnut) - 6:33



1994 - The Dark Before the Dawn

01. Sentimentalia (Chestnut) - 7:30
02. Steps of Trane (Chestnut) - 3:27
03. The Mirrored Window (Chestnut) - 6:19
04. Baroque Impressions (Chestnut on J.S.Bach) - 4:42
05. A Rare Gem (Chestnut) - 2:36
06. Call Me Later (Chestnut) - 4:09
07. Wright's Rolls and Butter (Chestnut) - 5:36
08. It Is Well (With My Soul) (Trad.) - 2:53
09. Kattin' (Chestnut) - 5:36
10. Lovers' Paradise (Chestnut) - 4:58
11. My Funny Valentine (Rodgers-Hart) - 3:06
12. The Dark Before the Dawn (Chestnut) - 6:22



1995 - Earth Stories

01. Decisions, Decisions (Chestnut) - 3:44
02. Grandmama's Blues (Chestnut) - 6:12
03. My Song in the Night (Chestnut) - 4:04
04. Nutman's Invention #1 (Chestnut) - 3:34
05. Blues from the East (Chestnut) - 4:20
06. Cooldaddy's Perspective (Chestnut) - 6:06
07. Maria's Folly (Chestnut) - 4:30
08. East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Bowman) - 6:28
09. Gomez (Chestnut) - 2:28
10. Whoopi (Chestnut) - 4:34
11. In the Garden (Trad.) - 2:47



1996 - Blessed Quietness: A Collection of Hymns, Spirituals and Carols

01. Over My Head (Trad.) - 3:08
02. Jesus Loves Me (Trad.) - 3:54
03. We Three Kings (Arodin) - 3:36
04. Walk with Me Jesus (Trad.) - 4:31
05. Silent Night (Gruber) - 4:08
06. Amazing Grace (Newton) - 3:07
07. The Old Rugged Cross (Bennard) - 4:12
08. Holy, Holy, Holy (Trad.) - 4:17
09. The First Noel (Sandys) - 3:28
10. Blessed Quietness (Trad.) - 7:27
11. What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Converse) - 3:17
12. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Trad.) - 6:28



1998 - Cyrus Chestnut

01. Miss Thing (Chestnut) - 5:06
02. Summertime (Gersgwin-Gershwin-Heyward) - 4:28
03. The Journey (Chestnut) - 6:43
04. Elegant Flower (for Jazz'min) (Chestnut) - 4:45
05. Nutman's Invention #2 (Chestnut) - 3:39
06. My Favorite Things (Rodgers-Hammerstein) - 3:44
07. Any Way You Can (Chestnut) - 6:29
08. Mother's Blues (Chestnut) - 5:04
09. Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Chestnut) - 3:47
10. Strolling in Central Park (Chestnut) - 8:00
11. Sharp (Chestnut) - 8:38



2000 - A Charlie Brown Christmas

01. Me and Charlie Brown (piano solo) (1:30)
02. Skating (4:38)
03. My Little Drum (7:16)
04. The Christmas Song (feat. Brian McKnight) (4:41)
05. Baby Dance (0:50)
06. Fur Elise (4:09)
07. What Child Is This? (5:07)
08. Linus and Lucy (5:00)
09. O Tannenbaum (4:06)
10. Christmastime Is Here (feat. Vanessa Williams) (4:47)
11. Me and Charlie Brown (5:18)
12. Christmas Is Coming (5:36)
13. Greensleeves (5:39)
14. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (2:14)



2001 - Soul Food

01. Soul Food (Chestnut) - 8:40
02. Brother with the Mint Green Vine (Chestnut) - 6:03
03. Cerebral Thoughts (Chestnut) - 6:15
04. Fantasia (Chestnut) - 3:48
05. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Trad.) - 5:06
06. Brother Hawky Hawk (Chestnut) - 5:36
07. Minor Funk (Chestnut) - 4:27
08. Coming Through the Rye (Trad.) - 2:37
09. In the Underground (Chestnut) - 6:26
10. Wellllll! (Chestnut) - 5:18
11. Goodnight (Chestnut) - 1:26



2002 - You Are My Sunshine

01. God Has Smiled on Me (Jones) - 5:32
02. It's All Right with Me (Porter) - 6:42
03. For the Saints (Chestnut) - 6:57
04. Precious Lord (Dorsey) - 7:14
05. You Are My Sunshine (Davis) - 4:08
06. Erroling (Chestnut) - 5:52
07. Total Praise (Smallwood) - 2:45
08. Lighthearted Intelligence (Chestnut) - 3:52
09. Sweet Hour of Prayer (Walford-Bradbury) - 4:15
10. Hope Song (Chestnut) - 5:22
11. Flipper (Chestnut) - 4:40
12. What a Fellowship (Hoffman-Showalter) - 5:27
13. Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior (Crosby-Doane) - 7:42



2006 - Genuine Chestnut

01. The Brown Soldier (Chestnut) - 4:53
02. El Numero Tres (Chestnut) - 4:14
03. If (Gates) - 5:21
04. Ellen's Song (Chestnut) - 4:27
05. Mason Dixon Line (Chestnut) - 4:42
06. Baby Girl's Strut (Chestnut) - 5:03
07. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Coli) - 6:30
08. Eyes on the Prize (Chestnut) - 5:00
09. Through the Valley (Chestnut) - 6:11
10. I'm Walkin' (Bartholomew-Domino) - 5:37
11. Lord, I Give Myself to You (Trad.) - 3:20



2007 - Cyrus Plays Elvis [VBR V0]

01. Hound Dog (Leiber-Stoller) - 4:37
02. Don't Be Cruel (Blackwell-Presley) - 5:31
03. Can't Help Falling in Love (Creatore-Peretti-Weiss) - 3:49
04. Love Me Tender (Matson-Presley) - 4:59
05. It's Now or Never (Gold-Schroeder) - 5:14
06. Don't (Leiber-Stoller) - 5:31
07. Graceland (Chestnut) - 5:09
08. Suspicious Minds (James) - 6:04
09. Heartbreak Hotel (Axton-Durden-Presley) - 5:27
10. In the Ghetto (Davis) - 5:02
11. How Great Thou Art (Boberg-Hughes) - 4:04



2008 - Spirit

01. Oh How I Love Jesus (Trad.) - 5:08
02. Lift Every Voice and Sing (Johnson) - 7:04
03. Blessed Assurance (Trad.) - 5:18
04. Wade in the Water (Trad.) - 4:09
05. Lean on Me (Withers) - 4:02
06. I Surrender All (Weeden) - 4:36
07. Gospel Improv #1 (Chestnut) - 4:25
08. Old Time Religion (Trad.) - 3:41
09. Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon) - 4:28
10. Come Sunday (Ellington) - 4:55
11. All by All (Potter) - 5:33
12. All Creatures of Our God and King (Trad.) - 3:55
13. Peace (Silver) - 4:39
14. The Lord's Prayer (Malotte) - 3:49



2010 - The Cyrus Chestnut Quartet

01. No Problem (Chestnut) - 7:43
02. Annibelle Cousins (Chestnut) - 7:10
03. Dream (Chestnut) - 5:58
04. What's Happening (Douglas) - 4:36
05. Waltz for Gene and Carol (Chestnut) - 5:04
06. Solace (Chestnut) - 7:09
07. Indigo Blue (Chestnut) - 8:02
08. Mustard (Chestnut) - 8:36



2013 - Soul Brother Cool

01. Spicy Honey (Chestnut) - 4:45
02. Soul Brother Cool (Chestnut) - 5:53
03. The Happiness Man (Chestnut) - 6:33
04. Piscean Thought (Chestnut) - 6:04
05. In Search of a Quiet Place (Chestnut) - 6:57
06. The Raven (Chestnut) - 5:48
07. Dawn of the Sunset (Chestnut) - 5:31
08. Intimacy (Chestnut) - 6:27
09. Every Which Way (Chestnut) - 5:00
10. Stripes (Chestnut) - 6:35