February 6, 1998

Cyrus Chestnut Trio to Appear at the Middlebury

College Center for the Arts

“…the 33-year old reveals an orchestral command

of the keyboard and a sophisticated sense of swing. And Chestnut

is possessed by a spirit of joy.” —David Grogran, “People”

The Cyrus Chestnut Trio-featuring Cyrus Chestnut

on piano, Steve Kirby on bass, and Alvester Garnett on drums-will

perform in the Concert Hall at the Middlebury College Center for

the Arts on Saturday, February 14 at 8 p.m.

A star on the modern jazz scene, Cyrus Chestnut began

his professional career working with Jon Hendricks from 1986-1988,

Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison from 1988-90, and Wynton

Marsalis in 1991. After a two-year tenure with jazz legend Betty

Carter, Chestnut actively launched his career as a leader with

“Revelation,” his 1994 Atlantic Jazz debut.

Since then, Chestnut has recorded three more albums

with Atlantic Jazz, including “Earth Stories,” which

prompted the Philadelphia Inquirer to declare, “Chestnut

can find more joy in a single note than most pianists do with

huge handfuls of harmony.”

Chestnut’s love of music began when he was a child

attending the Mt. Calgary Baptist Church in Baltimore, where he

played the piano at age seven and the organ at nine. Chestnut

later took his artistic enthusiasm to the Peabody Preparatory

Institute and the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts,

where he graduated in 1985 with a degree in jazz composition and

arranging.

Even as he shapes his own musical profile, Chestnut

has continued to pursue a number of outside projects, including

his contributions to opera singer Kathleen Battle’s 1995 album,

“So Many Stars,” which marked the first time he had

recorded with a classical artist. Chestnut also worked on the

soundtrack to director Robert Altman’s film “Kansas City,”

in which the jazz musician portrays a Count Basie-inspired pianist.

Tickets for this Concert Series performance are $9.00

general admission and $7.00 for senior citizens. A pre-performance

dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Rehearsals Cafe in the Center for the

Arts is also available. To order tickets or make dinner reservations,

please call the College box office at 802-443-6433.