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The University of Texas Jazz Orchestra with Cyrus Chestnut

Jeff Hellmer, Director
with Special Guest
Cyrus Chestnut, piano

Presented in partnership with Butler School of Music and KUTX’s Sunday Morning Jazz with Jay Trachtenberg

Hot on the heels of his 2015 McCullough Theatre performance with Turtle Island String Quartet, jazz pianist extraordinaire Cyrus Chestnut joins the UT Jazz Orchestra as part of the Butler School of Music’s annual Longhorn Jazz Festival.

Known for his improvisational skills and unique bop style, Cyrus Chestnut credits his abilities to his formative years when he played in church. Throughout his career, Chestnut has worked with an array of artists, including Joe Lovano, Freddie 
Hubbard, Chick Corea, Kathleen Battle, Bette Midler, and Isaac Hayes.

Directed by Professor Jeff Hellmer, the UT Jazz Orchestra is the Butler School of Music’s premiere jazz ensemble. The Jazz Orchestra has performed with such luminaries as Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, Conrad Herwig, John Clayton, Maria Schneider, Stefon Harris, and Joshua Redman in recent years. The ensemble’s eclectic repertoire features original compositions by its members.

“Pianist Cyrus Chestnut is one of jazz’s most convincing anachronisms. His brand of crisp articulation and blues-inflected harmony evokes another era. What makes his music fly is a complete security in his style, and that sense of untroubled self-assurance.” — The New York Times