A Sleighful of Yays and Nays

Cyrus Chestnut
Blessed Quietness: A Collection of Hymns, Spirituals, and Carols (Atlantic)

Alternately fussy and showy -- a dazzling musician with little tact or restraint -- this young-lion jazz pianist usually leaves me cold. Blessed Quietness, though, is imbued with warmth, sensitivity, and passion. Chestnut summons the barrelhouse ghosts of Albert Ammons and Art Tatum on the rollicking "Jesus Loves Me," and turns in lush, evocative interpretations of "Silent Night" and "The First Noël" that slow-burn like the last coals on a midnight fire.