Colleen allen was the first musician i thought of who could reimagine the orchestral writing with her wide instrumental palette from piccolo to bass. The eric felten jazz orchestras annual recreation of duke ellingtons nutcracker suite has come and gone for the season. It juxtaposes two versions of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite on the same disc. That swould be the nutcracker suite arranged and played by duke ellington. The nutcracker suite is an album by american pianist, composer and bandleader duke ellington recorded for the columbia label in 1960 featuring jazz interpretations of the nutcracker by tchaikovsky, arranged by ellington and billy strayhorn.
Heres a clever, wellexecuted album with a clever, wellexecuted plan. Other titles in the jazz suite include toot toot tootie toot, also known as dance of the reedpipes, in tchaikovskys nutcracker, and arabesque cookie, which is arabian dance in the original. The show includes a variety of jazz dance styles classical, contemporary, swing, tap. Apollo jazz orchestra to perform ellingtons nutcracker. Her past bwr productions include the wizard of oz, dancing with the starfish and the mother goose suite. Jacquelyn cunningham, artistic director of bwr, is the architect of the jazz version. Fortunately for holiday listeners, he teamed with cocomposer billy strayhorn for an intriguing version of the nutcracker suite performed by the ellington orchestra and recorded on a 1960 lp titled three suites. Hoffmann fantasy story the nutcracker and the mouse king, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on christmas eve and wages a battle against the evil mouse king. Just continuing my upload of dukes rendition of the nutcracker suite.
An absolute brilliant chart of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite. Ellingtonstrayhorns nutcracker suite november 26, 2018. The nutcracker suite is a sparkly little box of jewels made up of highlights from tchaikovskys fairy tale ballet the nutcracker, which has become a christmas staple around the world. The original was written for ballet, and it was an orchestra piece with strings.
In the late 1940s, milton cross, announcer for the metropolitan opera radio broadcasts between 1931 and 1975, narrated a threerecord 78 rpm and considerably altered version of the story entitled the nutcracker suite for children, with piano accompaniment. In the ballet nutcracker, you have to be a ballerina. The dorrance version uses the absolutely wonderful jazz arrangement by duke ellington and billy strayhorn. Directed by native bainbridge islander, scott brown, the roosevelt jazz program is one of the most important anchors of the seattle jazz music scene. Nevertheless, one need not wait an entire year to hear this program again, for feltens four blues alley appearances this december were recorded to appear at some point in 2020 on compact disc and also to appear. Ellington, composer of approximately two thousand compositions, rarely arranged music that was not of his own creation. This hardswinging, jazzed up version of the nutcracker has become an annual tradition to the seattle area and is the perfect way to kick off the festival of lights. Visions of sugar rum cherries tap dance in her head the. Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, details allmusic. The ensemble is austins first african american group to.
Hoffmanns story is darker and more troubling than the version that reached the stage. Yet when the duke and his writing partner billy strayhorn first announced plans to take the classical ballet and perform a jazz version, even members of dukes orchestra expressed. Colleen allen was the first musician i thought of who could reimagine the orchestral. The nutcracker suite duke ellington album wikipedia. The nutcracker suites presents two versions of the holiday classic, the original 1892 composition by pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky, and a wonderful jazz take of it from 1960, written by ellington and. Roosevelt high school jazz bands the jazz nutcracker at. My first jazz recording duke ellingtons version of the nutcracker. Complete your tchaikovsky anatole fistoulari conducting paris conservatoire orchestra collection. The nutcracker suite is an album by american pianist, composer and bandleader duke ellington recorded for the columbia label in 1960 featuring jazz interpretations of the nutcracker by tchaikovsky, arranged by ellington. A sweet nutcracker suite with eric felten jazz orchestra. Nutcracker suite brown, les, by composer performer.
Seeing the nutcracker is a childhood rite of passage. Ensemblenew york, and a 1960 duke ellingtonbilly strayhorn jazz version. Esu insider duke ellingtons nutcracker suite returns to esu. A holiday favorite, i knew the nutcracker suite, so it was a great starting point for my jazz education. Due to its popularity, the nutcracker has been used for many many different things and in many many different ways. I discovered billy strayhorns amazing symphonic jazz version of tchaikovskys iconic nutracker suite last june for a concert at the barrie jazz festival with my jazz quartet. Whats the name of the jazz version of the nutcracker suite. The legendary composing and arranging skills of duke ellington and billy strayhorn also make it nutcracker season for jazz aficionados. The apollo jazz orchestra is a multipiece musical ensemble which performs many. The nutcracker suite, a work intended for concert performance by an orchestra. A sweet duke ellington suite, is a tribute to duke ellington, the harlem renaissance pianist and composer. Haven dance academy of lynnwood, wa proudly presents the nutcracker suite.
There is also a great book about dukes nutcracker suite by anna harwell celenza. Its a 30minute suite, not a fulllength ballet score. The jazz corner hilton head island, sc december 15, 2017 every christmas is the nutcracker season for ballet aficionados. Dorrance and her collaborators, hannah heller and josette wigganfreund, want to pack in the whole nutcracker story. Beautiful dancing, elegant costuming, and a professional theater bring this traditional story to life. Jazz up the holiday season with a sample from duke ellingtons version of the nutcracker suite performed by david berger jazz. Edward kennedy duke ellington devoted major efforts over the last three decades of his life to pieces that were, if not entirely classical in inspiration, at least composed upon the canvas of western concert music. I could not find the cd version of this song so i thought i might as well upload it. Friends university presents 2019 ellingtons nutcracker. It wasnt until 68 years later that ellington and strayhorn released their own version, refocused through the lens of big band jazz. Cunningham says the jazz nutcracker will look the part and will swap in celebrities from the era for certain characters. In 1960, duke ellington and billy strayhorn arranged their own jazz version of the suite for columbia records. The story behind the jazzedup nutcracker the indianapolis star.
Featuring dancers from age four through high school. At an hour long, it is the perfect length for an audience of all ages. East stroudsburg universitys al cohn memorial jazz collection will present the 3 rd annual duke ellingtons nutcracker suite on saturday, december 7, 2019 at 7 p. Featuring jazz interpretations of tchaikovskys the nutcracker, the album has come to be recognised as one of duke ellingtons most important albums of the 1960s. Features many transitions of mood, feel and tempo, as well as a wonderful clarinet quartet, guitar solo also cued on piano, the sax solo, piano solo, and drum licks and rhythms that. Shchelkunchik listen help info is an 1892 twoact ballet fairy ballet.
For instance, theres one titled sugar rum cherry, and obviously that is the jazz version of dance of the sugar plum fairies, english said. Choreographed and directed by carolyn paine, the production features the companys signature style of fusing ballet, modern, ballroom, tap, jazz, and hip hop with a sense of humor to create a unique show that is fun and accessible for audiences of all ages and is truly a must see holiday classic. Compositions from duke ellingtons 1960 nutcracker suite. The shows will be rounded out by recent works, a different combination each week. In his original liner notes for the ellingtonstrayhorn nutcracker suite, record producer irving townsend included the fantastic fiction that ellington met tchaikovsky while ellingtons orchestra was performing. Compositions from duke ellingtons 1960 nutcracker suite sunday, november 3, 2019 doors. Join us for a charming version of the nutcracker including act i and act ii. Jazz at lincoln centers jazz academy 185,528 views 3. Finally acknowledged as the greatest russian composer, he had produced symphonies, concertos, ballets, and his latest opera, the queen of spades, had been hailed as a masterpiece. Listen before or after reading the nutcracker in harlem by t. Washingtonlee jazz big band duke ellingtons nutcracker suite. Jazz nutcracker puts swinging spin on holiday classic.
The friends university ballet department will once again present the jazz version of a holiday favorite, ellingtons nutcracker. The story of the nutcracker is loosely based on the e. Orchestra getting all jazzed up for its version of the. By adapting tchaikovskys score for jazz orchestra, ellington was poised to both. It is seven and a half minutes of musical inspration, and definitely not for the fainthearted. Yet when the duke and his writing partner billy strayhorn first announced plans to take the classical ballet and perform a jazz version, even members of dukes. A hip nutcracker suite will jazz up your christmas. Brian setzer orchestra nutcracker suite xenochrist92.
In 1960, ellington and strayhorn wrote their version of the famous tchaikovsky ballet. So on the local jazz station they play a version of the sugar plum faire nutcracker suite its 100% jazz awesome, but i havent been able to find the name of it or the band that plays it, anyone familiar with this toon. The setting of the nutcracker suite that he composed with billy strayhorn has been among the most popular of these efforts, but it, like the dukes other concert works, remains. From a strictly professional point of view, tchaikovsky should have been a happy man in 1890. This edition of tchaikovskys the nutcracker suite, arranged in 1960 by billy strayhorn and duke ellington, was assembled from the original manuscripts held in the strayhorn repository and the ellington collection of the smithsonian. Ellingtons nutcracker will be set to a live jazz band playing the duke ellington orchestras composition. Orchestra getting all jazzed up for its version of the nutcracker martinsburgswing into the holiday season when the apollo jazz orchestra presents the jazz version of the nutcracker suite. The original cover for the 1960 big band album, the nutcracker suite, presented three.
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