The Cyrus Chestnut Jazz Trio and D. K. Harrell Blues Band
- In Partnership With
On February 7 at 7:30 p.m., the State Theatre will host a captivating evening of jazz and blues as part of Penn State’s 2025 African American Music Festival, which runs from February 5–8. This year’s festival, themed “The Spiritual and The Blues,” celebrates the profound cultural legacy of African American music through performances, lectures, and forums. Highlighting the festival are two renowned artists who embody the spirit of this theme: jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and blues guitarist and singer D.K. Harrell. Together, their performances will showcase the deep spiritual roots and joyful resilience inherent in African American music.
Cyrus Chestnut brings his soulful, gospel-infused jazz to the stage, blending technical mastery with heartfelt expression honed alongside legends like Jon Hendricks and Wynton Marsalis. Meanwhile, D.K. Harrell, hailed as one of the most exciting emerging blues artists, offers electrifying performances that channel the legacy of B.B. King while capturing his own life experiences. Harrell’s critically acclaimed debut album, The Right Man, and Chestnut’s celebrated career as a bandleader and recording artist ensure an unforgettable evening. This event promises to embody the vibrant connections between the spiritual and the blues, enriching the festival’s mission to honor African American artistry past and present.
About Cyrus Chestnut
Born in 1963, Chestnut started his musical career at the age of three, playing piano at the Mount Calvary Star Baptist Church at the age of six 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. Some of these great people include; Jon Hendricks, Michael Carvin, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Regina Cater, 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.
As Cyrus was absorbing experiences as a sideman, he was also developing as a leader, recording and playing live around the world. There’s a Brighter Day Coming was his first self-released album, followed by The Nutman Speaks (1992), The Nutman Speaks Again (1992), Another Direction (1993). The records received the prestigious Gold Disk award from Japan’s leading jazz publication, Swing Journal. Cyrus has recorded many records as a leader and sideman. He has records on the Atlantic, Warner Jazz, Telarc, Koch, and the JLP records. His skills warrant his high tier status in the music industry.
About D.K. Harrell
In less than a year, singer-guitarist D.K. Harrell has catapulted from a blues artist with promise to one of the most sought-after musicians in the blues realm. His debut record, The Right Man on Little Village, won immediate critical raves worldwide upon its release in June 2023 and became the second most-played blues album on U.S. radio in 2023. In 2024 he was honored as Best Emerging Artist in the prestigious Blues Music Awards celebration held by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation. He also will play a stream of major U.S. festivals this year and has five European tours. In all he will play in 10 different countries this year.
He has burst on the blues scene in a big way. His impassioned live sets reflect his love of playing the blues, and there is a surge of joy in his songs that spills over to the audience. It’s that connection that is building his legacy.
The Right Man features 11 songs written by Harrell that reflect his own life, but display the spirit of the blues at every turn. Harrell has an uncommon ability to capture his experiences in songs that relate to similar experiences of his listeners.
“I just love to play music for people, and to watch them share in the experience,” says Harrell. “I’ve always said that music is my voice.”
The 26-year-old Harrell is a self-taught guitarist from Ruston, a rural community in the northern Louisiana. He first interest in the blues occurred at age 11 after seeing the movie Cadillac Records, inspired by the harmonica sounds of Little Walter. But after picking up the harmonica, Harrell moved onto guitar at 13, exploring blues from many angles until he discovered B.B. King.
From that point on, Harrell devoted himself to the blues and watched every B.B. King video he could find. He picked up on the subtleties and dynamics of King’s music that other people overlook. And, just as important, he tapped into the intangibles that made King the worldwide King of the Blues.
And at 19, Harrell found himself traveling to B.B. King’s hometown of Indianola, Miss., to play a blues symposium on King’s music. It was his first paying gig, and he was honored that the B.B. King Museum chose him to play King’s fabled “Lucille” guitar.
When it came time to record his first album, Little Village assembled an all-star support lineup that included bassst Jerry Jemmott (who played on King’s original recording of “The Thrill Is Gone” and served stints in the bands of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and King Curtis), drummer Tony Coleman (30 years in King’s band) and organist Jim Pugh (Etta James and Robert Cray bands).Along the way, Harrell also has attracted some high-profile fans. Musicians such as Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush, Susan Tedeschi and Chris Cain each are big fans, realizing that the young D.K. Harrell has special talent.
