Duke ellington and his orchestra the nutcracker suite. Writing it was easy, it was finished in less than three months, but convincing the musicians of the idea was another matter. Lawrence brown, juan tizol, johnny hodges, and harry carney. The second half of the concert will feature duke ellingtons nutcracker suite which transforms tchaikovskys classic into a jazz expression. Duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn.
Edward kennedy duke ellington was an american composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spann. Duke ellingtons nutcracker with duke ellington orchestra. In addition, enjoy stunning choreography from ccm musical theatres stars of tomorrow. Cd recording of the ellingtonstrayhorn composition included. Duke ellington dance of the floreadores waltz of the. The ellington nutcracker has a lot of the original melodic content, but hes very free in the structure of the work, according to don megill, a miracosta college jazz historian who. 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.
Duke ellington nutcracker suite the voice of black. Don tate tells the story of how jazz composer and musician duke ellington, along with billy strayhorn, created his jazz composition based on tchaikovskys famous nutcracker suite ballet. However this cd is very disappointing because 1 it is taken from a vinyl source you can hear the surface noise 2 the ending of the last movement is chopped off, and 3 there is only 31 mins of music on the whole cd cds take 75 mins with ease. Ellingtons band memebers were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a coolcat jazz number. Featuring jazz interpretations of tchaikovskys the nutcracker, the album has come to be recognized as one of duke ellington s most important albums of the 1960s. Duke ellington, bob russell licensed to youtube by sme on behalf of columbia. Ccm jazz and musical theatre present duke ellingtons. 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. Their unique ability to create interesting combinations. Personnel duke ellington piano willie cook, fats ford, ray nance.
Friends university presents 2019 ellingtons nutcracker. Ellington and strayhorn did not save all their gifts for royals. Duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn, tchaikovsky duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn, tchaikovsky the nutcracker suite. Point park universitys conservatory dance company presents the. Eager to create fresh, new tunes, duke and his bestfriend and collaborator, billy strayhorn, decide to reinvent a holiday tradition. But duke and billy, inspired by their travels and by musical styles past and present, infused the composition with vegas glitz, hollywood glamour, and even a little new york jazz. On a night in 1960, legendary musician and band leader duke ellington, along with his collaborator billy strayhorn, decided to jazz up tchaikovskys christmastime staple, nutcracker suite. The tchaikovskys nutcracker suite rearranged by duke ellington and billy strayhorn. Austin, texas ballet afrique contemporary dance company will present duke ellingtons the nutcracker to a soldout crowd at the mccallum arts center friday. 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. Fantastic performance footage of one of jazzs greatest stars duke ellington. Well, actually, they were both sitting down, at their respective pianos, but separated by many, many miles. Here is the entire nutcracker suite by duke ellington. Ballet afrique presents duke ellingtons the nutcracker.
I cant find it on spotify or youtube, so i bought the cd. Its 1960 and jazz fans cant get enough of duke ellington and his big band. The nutcracker suite is an album by american pianist, composer and bandleader. The tchaikovskys nutcracker suite rearranged by duke ellington and billy strayhorn duke ellington and his orchestra.
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. The sugar plum fairy emerged as the sultry sugar rum cherry, while the dance of the reed pipes became toot. The nutcracker suite duke ellington album wikipedia. Ellingtons nutcracker will be set to a live jazz band playing the duke ellington orchestras composition. Seems like this is the only way to hear ellingtons nutcracker suite on youtube.
The show is a collaboration with the austin community college jazz ensemble. This suite was first composed as a ballet score by russian composer pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky in. The hope college symphony orchestra and jazz arts collective will present a unique opportunity to hear two versions of a holiday favorite with sidebyside performance of the pyotr tchaikovsky and duke ellington nutcracker suites on thursday, nov. The friends university ballet department will once again present the jazz version of a holiday favorite, ellingtons nutcracker.
The nutcracker suite additional works to be announced jazz up your holidays with duke ellingtons dazzling reimagining of tchaikovskys the nutcracker, performed by the duke ellington orchestrathe only ensemble directly carrying on the tradition from duke himself. Jump and jive with ccms jazz band this fall as they perform a swinging duke ellington nutcracker suite. Sophisticated lady duke ellington and his orchestra by arciduca31. Online ticket purchases for the duke ellington nutcracker suite are closed. Duke ellington toot toot tootie toot dance of the reedpipes. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite once upon a masterpiece by anna harwell celenza and don tate sep 25, 2018. This is some of the greatest music of the suites written or in this case, arranged by ellington and strayhorn. Duke ellington the nutcracker suite music skip to main content. Featuring brand new choreography from dcbased dance troupe step afrika. Featuring jazz interpretations of tchaikovskys the nutcracker, the album has come to be recognized as one of duke ellingtons most important albums of the 1960s. In 1960 duke ellington and billy strayhorn reinvented peter ilyich tchaikovskys holiday ballet classic, the nutcracker suite, as a jazzy, brassy melting pot of musical styles past and present, according to the new york times. The 3rd annual duke ellington nutcracker suite esu. The bso will delight the entire family with the peanut brittle brigade and dance of the floreadors and a few old favorites too.
At christmas 1960, the composing duo managed something truly extraordinary. Once upon a time, duke ellington and billy strayhorn sat down together to do a swinging jazz version of pyotr ilyich tchaikovskys beloved holiday ballet, the nutcracker. Ellington strayhorn jazz nutcracker suitecentral washington university jazz band 1. This book tells in storyform how duke ellington was inspired to take tchaikovskys nutcracker suite and write it for jazz. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite episode 1 on this podcast i do a side by side comparison between the original by tchaikovsky and the ellingtonstrayhorn version. A number of the dukes original members of his 19381941 band performed on the recording including. In 1960, duke ellington and billy strayhorn arranged a clever adaptation of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite for the duke ellington orchestra. 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 duke s orchestra expressed. Just wrapping up my upload of dukes rendition of the nutcracker suite. With performances of song of his most famous songs including mood indigo.
Ccm jazz orchestra with ccm musical theater dancers live concert of duke ellingtons nutcracker suite. Duke ellington presents the nutcracker suite youtube. In their own unique style, the two composers remake tchaikovskys nutcracker suite. Duke ellingtons nutcracker baltimore symphony orchestra. Ellington and writing partner bill strayhorn created this hybrid album in the 1960s. Duke ellington money jungle full jazz album youtube. Duke ellington short bio long bio news works performances discography photos listen edward k. Hailed as the two greatest christmas big band arrangements of all time coupled with this spectacular group of. A 1959 promo video for duke ellington s version of the nutcracker suite, featuring paul gonsalves, butter jackson, and ray nance.
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