Cyrus Chestnut Quartet

“The best pianist of his generation” (Time), Cyrus Chestnut has established a career as a peerless soloist and torchbearer of the classic piano trio setting. He makes his debut in Miner Auditorium as a highlight of the holiday season, performing Bay Area jazz luminary Vince Guaraldi’s music from the beloved 1965 Charles Schultz animated classic A Charlie Brown Christmas with his trio plus vocalist Haley Driver.

A standout since his student days at Berklee, Chestnut spent formative years accompanying vocalese legend Jon Hendricks, anchoring the quintessential young lion quintet of Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison, and touring with Wynton Marsalis. But he credits his early 1990s stint in vocal explorer Betty Carter’s band with radically expanding creative vision, appearing on her landmark 1992 late career Verve release It’s Not About the Melody. Since then, the pianist has racked up dozens of recording credits with jazz’s greatest names and 35 albums as a leader.

Chestnut’s performances of Guaraldi’s timeless score to the holiday classic appeared on his all-star 2000 Atlantic Records album Charlie Brown Christmas with the Boys Choir of Harlem and guests including the late Michael Brecker. For this date, Chestnut is joined by bassist Herman Burney, drummer Kelton Norris, and the remarkable young vocalist Driver — a standout rising star mentored by Chestnut as a student at New York’s The New School.