Artist:Cyrus Chestnut
Song:Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Album:Soul Food
Jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut has been recording as a leader since the 90s. He is also very successful as a sideman and accompanist. He can play anything with anyone. He was born Jan. 17, 1963 in Baltimore. He attended Mount Calvary Baptist Church as a child. His father played piano and his mother led the choir. Chestnut started playing piano at age three. By age nine he was studying classical piano at the Peabody Institute. Then he studied at Berklee in Boston where he earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging. Upon graduation, Chestnut immediately got work as a sideman with Jon Hendricks and Wynton Marsalis. He toured with Betty Carter for several years and she always encouraged him to be himself. He made his debut as a leader in 1992 and signed with Atlantic Records in 1993. Chestnut recorded seven albums for Atlantic. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is from the 2001 album Soul Food. This was Chestnut's final album for Atlantic. Though he plays solo on this track, the band on the rest of the album is Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash on drums with some added horns. After leaving Atlantic, It looks like Chestnut started his own label. He currently records for Highnote Records. His latest CD Kaleidoscope was released in 2018. Here's Cyrus Chestnut performing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot at Pwop Studios in New London, CT Dec. 19, 2008.
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