Wed 5/8 @ 7PM
Gospel-rooted jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut is known for his vast stylistic range. A a Berklee College of Music graduate, he played with Terrence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Hendricks, Donald Harrison, and Betty Carter before spreading his wings and starting to release albums under his own name in 1992.
Fifteen albums and many collaborations have followed. Just a sampling of the artists he’s worked with: soul singers Brian McKnight and Isaac Hayes, opera singer Kathleen Battle, vocalese group the Manhattan Transfer, Bette Midler, Anita Baker, and the Boys Choir of Harlem.
And he continues to tip his hat to his first musical love: gospel. “If I’m not working, you’ll find me in somebody’s church,” he says.
Acoustic bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Neil Smith will back him at his Nighttown performance. Tickets are $25; students with current I.D. are $15.