On Saturday, December 6, the Chocolate Church stages Cyrus Chestnut as he channels the timeless charm of Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. Expect his soulful, gospel-tinged piano to breathe new warmth into classics like “Linus and Lucy” and “Christmas Time Is Here,” all wrapped in Chestnut’s trademark virtuosity and playful flair! It’s pure holiday magic.

Cyrus Chestnut balances his lithe technical skill with a robust, soulful style that speaks to his deep gospel roots and love of swinging hard bop. Raised in the church, he learned how to infuse his swinging, classically trained style with a warm gospel sound, a style that first marked his work as a sideman, backing legendary vocalists Jon Hendricks and Betty Carter, as well as with instrumentalists like Donald Harrison and Wynton Marsalis. He further perfected his approach as a leader, recording a bevy of small group albums for Atlantic, like 1998's Cyrus Chestnut, and as a member of the Manhattan Trinity with bassist George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash. Most often, Chestnut leads the Cyrus Chestnut Trio, as on 2016's Natural Essence with veterans Buster Williams and Lenny White, 2018's Kaleidoscope with Eric Wheeler and Chris Beck, and 2022's My Father's Hands with Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash, the latter of which found him paying tribute to his late father, who first taught him how to play.