Pianist Cyrus Chestnut will be the honoree at this year’s South Orange Performing Arts Center’s Giants of Jazz concert, produced by bassist John Lee. Lee made the announcement on September 10 prior to an exhilarating performance at SOPAC by vocalist Cyrille Aimee, who was profiled in the September issue of Jersey Jazz Magazine.
When he was interviewed by Jersey Jazz in September 2022, Chestnut recalled his early days with vocalists Jon Hendricks and Betty Carter. Hendricks hired him shortly after he graduated from the Berklee College of Music. “I was very green,” Chestnut recalled. “He looked at me and asked, ‘You got a passport?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘We leave in five days.'”
Being on the road with Betty Carter, Chestnut said, “was on-the-job training. Once you finish with Betty, you should be able to handle whatever. After two years, she said to me, ‘You’re not going to play with anyone else. You’re going to lead your own band.'”
Two pianists who greatly influenced Chestnut were Harold Mabern and Dr. Billy Taylor. At the 2019 Giants of Jazz concert honoring Mabern, Chestnut performed with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Tommy Campbell. “I think about Harold Mabern all the time,” he said in the 2022 interview. “I remember many nights at Bradley’s when he’d be sitting right next to me.”
When Taylor suffered a stroke and couldn’t play at a concert honoring him at the Kennedy Center, Chestnut played instead. According to Taylor’s daughter, Kim Taylor-Thompson, “Cyrus played his heart out. Dad just loved him.” Added Chestnut” “No one could fill the shoes Dr. Billy Taylor wore. He taught me great stories about life and music.”
Chestnut’s latest album, Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony (HighNote: 2025) was featured on WBGO Radio’s “New Day, New Play” in April 2025. In the liner notes, NEA Jazz Master Willard Jenkins said: “When you combine impeccable taste in note selection, adept spacing, and near peerless dexterity at the piano keyboard with a soulful approach derived from both familial upbringing and Black church experience, you get a true sense of the mastery of Cyrus Chestnut.”
The Giants of Jazz concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 29. For more information or to order tickets, log onto sopacnow.org.
PHOTO BY CHRIS DRUKKER