Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time, wrote: “What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space.”

Cyrus Chestnut was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1963, son of McDonald (a retired post-office employee and church pianist) and Flossie (a city social services worker and church choir director). Chestnut started learning piano at the age of seven, and in his boyhood played at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. By the age of nine, he was studying classical music at the Peabody Institute. In 1985, Chestnut earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging from Boston’s Berklee College of Music.