If you’ve never heard the way Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn put their spin on Tchaikovsky’s music for The Nutcracker, then you should immediately. Lucky for you you don’t have to go to Spotify to hear this. Instead, you can go to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Sunday evening to hear the Duke Ellington Orchestra perform Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker.
Simply put, Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker swings! Why wouldn’t it? Ellington and Strayhorn were behind some of the best jazz songs of all time. When they collaborated on this interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet music, they gave new life to a piece of music we all know and love.
Certainly you know The Nutcracker. Whether from the ballet or its use in countless television commercials or the memorable way it was paired with animation in Fantasia.
This arrangement dates back to 1960. The original recording was made over 5 days in May and June of that year. Not only did they change the tempo and arrangements, they changed some of the titles as well: Overture, Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed Pipes), Peanut Brittle Brigade (March), Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy), Entr’acte, Volga Vouty (Russian Dance), Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance), Danse of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers) and Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance).
Given that this work doesn’t run that long, you can probably count on performances of classic Ellington tunes like It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got that Swing, Mood Indigo and Take the A Train.
And even though this is called Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker, don’t forget how important Billy Strayhorn was for this and much of Ellington’s work.
For tickets go here.