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My brother, Chad, had never done it before, but that did not stop him from putting his name on the list and paging through the well-thumbed booklet in our neighborhood bar.
Chad actually has a pretty ....…
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“We’ve made these notes just for you”, Cyrus Chestnut remarked, halfway through his Trio’s closing set at this year’s Twin Cities Jazz Festival, and the large, overflow crowd responded in kind, appreciating the 100 min. performance to close out what was the largest-attended year in its 15-year history.
The Baltimore-born Chestnut, who cut his chops playing piano for the likes of Terrence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, and Betty Carter assuredly led his Trio (bassist Eric Wheelerbass and 19-year old drummer Evan Sherman) through an enjoyable 100 min set of standards, covers, and playful original compositions, on a perfect Saturday evening under the stars at St. Paul’s Mears Park.
Chestnut’s ability to capture a single note line and play the ‘space’ around it (similar to Art Tatum) is his signature style and audibly creates a musical dialogue that almost fools the listener into thinking there is more than one piano on stage.
The unusual stage placement had Chestnut not only with his back mostly to the audience, but also to the two members of his trio as well, which didn’t detract the musical impact, nor make his band miss any cues or tempo changes, so we’ll just assume it’s his preferred way of working.
The Trio shined on “Solace”, a tune originally done as a quartet and followed by working in a playful extended version of the theme song from ‘Jeopardy’ after a taut Duke Ellington cover.
An almost unrecognizable stretched-out cover of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” turned out to be a set highlight, and the young drummer Sherman impressed any doubters in the audience, with a precise, beat-driven solo as the more seasoned Wheeler and Chestnut looked on appreciatively.
One of the late set highlights spotlighted bassist Wheeler on “Soul Brother Cool”, the prospective title track of a new Trio album due this fall. As the band ran close to the city’s curfew time of 10 pm, Chestnut implored everyone “if you liked what you heard tonight, take the good feelings with you”; which is exactly what the audience did after a more than satisfying closing set to another successful Twin Cities Jazz Festival.
The Baltimore-born Chestnut, who cut his chops playing piano for the likes of Terrence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, and Betty Carter assuredly led his Trio (bassist Eric Wheelerbass and 19-year old drummer Evan Sherman) through an enjoyable 100 min set of standards, covers, and playful original compositions, on a perfect Saturday evening under the stars at St. Paul’s Mears Park.
Chestnut’s ability to capture a single note line and play the ‘space’ around it (similar to Art Tatum) is his signature style and audibly creates a musical dialogue that almost fools the listener into thinking there is more than one piano on stage.
The unusual stage placement had Chestnut not only with his back mostly to the audience, but also to the two members of his trio as well, which didn’t detract the musical impact, nor make his band miss any cues or tempo changes, so we’ll just assume it’s his preferred way of working.
The Trio shined on “Solace”, a tune originally done as a quartet and followed by working in a playful extended version of the theme song from ‘Jeopardy’ after a taut Duke Ellington cover.
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Cyrus Chestnut
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One of the late set highlights spotlighted bassist Wheeler on “Soul Brother Cool”, the prospective title track of a new Trio album due this fall. As the band ran close to the city’s curfew time of 10 pm, Chestnut implored everyone “if you liked what you heard tonight, take the good feelings with you”; which is exactly what the audience did after a more than satisfying closing set to another successful Twin Cities Jazz Festival.
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Cyrus Chestnut Trio at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, St Paul (06/29/13) |
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