Jazz Meets Elvis in South Florida

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Gold Coast Jazz Society Presents Jazz Pianist Cyrus Chestnut in “Jazzin’ Elvis”

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Elvis and jazz seem to be an unlikely combination, but the dynamic jazz pianist, Cyrus Chestnut, filters the rock star’s music “through the ears of a jazz musician.” His innate pianistic ability allows his to play a wide range of styles. On January 13, jazz fans will have the opportunity to hear this dynamic performer with his trio at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The jazz show begins at 7:45 pm. Single tickets are $35 and $40 and student tickets are $12. Purchase tickets through the Broward Center Box Office at 954-462-0222 or online at www.goldcoastjazz.org or www.browardcenter.org. A pre-concert Jazz Riff jazz talk will be given by radio personality Stu Grant at 7:00pm in the theater before the show. Hailed by Time Magazine as “the best jazz pianist of his generation,” Chestnut started his musical career at the age of three, By age six he was playing piano at the Mount Calvary Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. By age nine, he was studying classical music at the Peabody Preparatory Institute in Baltimore. In the fall of 1981, Cyrus began jazz education in Boston, MA at the Berklee College of Music. In 1985, he earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging. While at Berklee, Chestnut was awarded the Eubie Blake Fellowship, the Oscar Peterson, Quincy Jones, and Count Basie awards for exceptional performance standards at the college. After Berklee, Cyrus began further honing his craft as a sideman with some of the legendary and leading musicians in the business including Jon Hendricks, Michael Carvin, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Joe Williams, Isaac Hayes, Kathleen Battle, Betty Carter and, Dizzy Gillespie just to name a few. His association with Betty Carter, which began in 1991, significantly affected his outlook and approach to music, confirming his already iconoclastic instincts. Carter advised him to "take chances" and play things I've never heard," Chestnut says.

He has released a number of CD’s over the years and has been featured on film playing a Count Basie inspired character in the Robert Altman film, Kansas City. His leadership and prowess as a soloist has also led him to be a first call for the piano chair in many big bands including the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Star Big Band, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra. He has recorded with the people previously mentioned and others including Bette Midler and Freddy Cole. Chestnut continually tours with his trio, playing live at jazz festivals around the world as well as clubs and concert halls. With his hectic schedule, Cyrus has also found the time to get into jazz education, doing seminars worldwide and, on occasion, educating students in jazz at Middlebury College in Vermont during the winter months. Joined by bassist Dezron Douglass and drummer Neal Smith, he continually uses the trio format to extend, elaborate, and refine the basic conception of the jazz rhythm section. In his own words, "this country and this art form are founded on the basic principles of freedom, whereby a person is able to think, say, or play what he or she chooses.”

Don’t miss this extraordinary jazz musician. Good seats are still available for the January 13 concert. The Gold Coast Jazz Society is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of jazz music through a mainstage concert series, free community concerts, jazz education programs and other events. Go online http://www.goldcoastjazz.org/ for more information about the Gold Coast Jazz Society or call 954-524-0805.