Cyrus Chestnut doesn't blow his own horn much. Besides, it's not his instrument. He has always come across as a shy and modest guy who does most of his talking with a keyboard. And that could explain, at least in part, why he's still not exactly an international celebrity.
He's played all over, and with some of the biggest names in music. At 46, he has more than a dozen recordings on major labels, including a deeply soulful new one titled “Spirit." Jazz followers are familiar with Mr. Chestnut, and critics have said extravagantly positive things about him.
But it's not enough.
What we have here is a true virtuoso, and a native of Baltimore, who deserves the world's attention - and whom the world deserves to hear.
Oprah - you've had Miley Cyrus on; it's time to book Cyrus Chestnut.
I don't know that “Spirit" will be a breakout album for him - I had thought that, for its marketability, “Cyrus Chestnut Plays Elvis" (2007) might have been - but certainly his new recording shows why many regard Mr. Chestnut as the best pianist of his generation.
I would be more specific and say “best jazz pianist," but that would set Mr. Chestnut off in an exclusive corner of the salon, when he belongs in the main hall.
He's played all over, and with some of the biggest names in music. At 46, he has more than a dozen recordings on major labels, including a deeply soulful new one titled “Spirit." Jazz followers are familiar with Mr. Chestnut, and critics have said extravagantly positive things about him.
But it's not enough.
What we have here is a true virtuoso, and a native of Baltimore, who deserves the world's attention - and whom the world deserves to hear.
Oprah - you've had Miley Cyrus on; it's time to book Cyrus Chestnut.
I don't know that “Spirit" will be a breakout album for him - I had thought that, for its marketability, “Cyrus Chestnut Plays Elvis" (2007) might have been - but certainly his new recording shows why many regard Mr. Chestnut as the best pianist of his generation.
I would be more specific and say “best jazz pianist," but that would set Mr. Chestnut off in an exclusive corner of the salon, when he belongs in the main hall.
