This compilation includes Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me,” Horace Silver’s “Peace,” and brilliant interpretations of many classic hymns, including Dr. William Smith’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Negro National Anthem and recognized as one of the most important musical offerings of the Civil Rights movement. Treating this material with great delicacy and empathy, Chestnut’s tempos breathe and his phrasing combines an almost surgical precision with affecting tenderness. There isn’t a weak moment in the collection—precisely because there isn’t a moment in which he loses connection with the inherent power of the music.
