Cyrus Chestnut oral history, 2004 January 22

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Staff Only

[Aviary] Cyrus Chestnut oral history, 2004 January 22

Scope and Contents

From the Series:

Oral histories were conducted by archives staff and by student interviewers. Most oral histories in this series include a transcript and an audio recording on cassette. Some files may contain related information about the subject.

Dates

Creation: 2004 January 22

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for use. Contact peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu for more information.

Extent

From the Collection: 4.87 Cubic Feet (17 boxes)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Abstract

Cyrus Chestnut is a jazz pianist. A Baltimore native, Chestnut began piano studies with his father, the pianist at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. At age nine, he began piano theory and musicianship classes at the Peabody Preparatory Division, where he studied for twelve years. He accompanied the choir at the Israel Baptist Church in East Baltimore. He attended Baltimore City and Harford County public schools, then Berklee College of Music, where he studied jazz composition and arranging. Graduating in 1985, he returned to Baltimore while establishing a national career with musicians such as Jon Hendricks, Donald Harrison, Wynton Marsalis, and Betty Carter. In this interview with Elizabeth Schaaf, Chestnut discusses his musical influences and his approach to improvisation.