Lafayette Gilchrist featuring special guest and Cambridge native, Cecil Brooks of the Sun Ra Arkestra

"New Orleans barrelhouse piano, the Impressionism of Ravel and Duke Ellington’s jaggy solo-piano sound form the bedrock of Lafayette Gilchrist’s style at the keyboard. But if there’s one big influence on the way he thinks about rhythm, it’s the deeply swinging ‘pocket' of a classic go-go beat... On 'Dark Matter’…the hypnosis of the pocket comes through.” – Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times

“Lafayette Gilchrist has dug deep into [jazz piano] history… he's tapping into jazz's spiritual, historical and cultural roots. He's an old soul at ease in the modern world.” –Kevin Whitehead, NPR’s Fresh Air

"Few of Gilchrist’s contemporaries have the feel for jazz’s secular and sacred tributaries that he possesses... Gilchrist has a singular facility to make it new. Therein is the light that emanates from Dark Matter." –Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure 

Lafayette Gilchrist’s music draws on the span of jazz history from stride to free improvisation, along with inspiration from hip-hop, funk, and Washington D.C.’s unique go-go sound. His work thrives on making surprising connections between styles and influences, boldly veering from piledriver funk to piquant stride, vigorous swing to hip-hop swagger, contemplative abstraction to deep-bottom grooves. Gilchrist is the pianist in the Sun Ra Arkestra, has toured extensively with David Murray, and his compositions have graced the soundtracks of David Simon’s acclaimed series The Wire, The Deuce, and Treme. Gilchrist has performed with Cassandra Wilson, Macy Gray, Oliver Lake, Andrew Cyrille, Orrin Evans, Paul Dunmall, Hamid Drake, William Parker and many more. Gilchrist’s second solo recording, 2019's "Dark Matter," which muses on the elusive and mysterious matter that ties the universe together, landed on numerous critics best of lists.

Gilchrist returns to The Lilypad, where he played for a standing room only crowd in 2022, for a performance featuring a special guest appearance by Cambridge native and fellow member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Cecil Brooks on trumpet