Nutcracker suite songs i have a considerable number of ellington recordings, but have not heard this one until now. Tchaikovsky the nutcracker suite mendelssohn midsummer nights dream album. This article is about the ballet and the music by tchaikovsky. The incredible imagination of duke ellington was no secret. Far from a slapdash attempt to jazz up the classics this arrangement is testament to ellingtons particular. Reviving the art of swinging the classics, steven richman and the harmonie ensemblenew york present two different versions of the beloved nutcracker suite, sidebyside on the same album for the first time. The nutcracker suite, with a side of jazz pacific symphony. In the film fantasia, commentator deems taylor observes that he really detested the score. Celebrate the holidays with a special showcase of duke ellingtons nutcracker suite performed by the jazz st. Caravan, written in 1936 by duke ellington and juan tizol, and take the a train, composed in 1941 by billy strayhorn. Ellingtonstrayhorntchaikovsky nutcracker suite act one.
Ellington and strayhorns the nutcracker suite at studenaker. Anna harwell celenza duke ellingtons nutcracker suite. Queer encounters in the music of billy strayhorn jstor. This exhibition examines two jazz standards, each one its authors mostrecorded piece. 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. These jazz interpretations of tchaikovskys ballet, arranged by ellington and billy strayhorn, feature tunes like sugar rum cherry taking the place of dance of the sugarplum fairy and peanut brittle brigade taking the place of. If youve never heard the way duke ellington and billy strayhorn put their spin on. Ellingtons colleague billy strayhorn, who was a classically trained american composer, suggested he do a jazz arrangement of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite.
Duke ellington, the nutcracker suite 1960 classical. From a strictly professional point of view, tchaikovsky should have been a happy man in 1890. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite works on me like a time machine. The album won a grammy award for best jazz performance by a big band in 1976. Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, details allmusic. Doing so pays a lot of dividends, even if the tchaikovsky suite, played by new yorks harmonie ensemble, is extremely unorthodox. 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. The placement of the traditional nutcracker suite before the ellingtonstrayhorn version was a stroke of genius. The result was such sweet thunder, one of the most highly acclaimed albums in the ellington discography. As orchestrators and harmonists, ellington and strayhorn found inspiration in debussy and ravel. The nutcracker suite interpreted by duke ellington and billy strayhorn. When they collaborated on this interpretation of tchaikovskys ballet music.
Almost anything by the ellington band is a genuine aural banquet, and this is no exception. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite by anna harwell celenza. The nutcracker suite duke ellington album wikipedia. How tchaikovskys ballet crops up here, there and everywhere in popular culture. 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. Nutcracker suite 20 audiolibro, cd summary on this recording, steven richman and his harmonie ensemblenew york swing in the holiday season wit. Ellingtons band members were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a coolcat jazz number. Bolero gustavo dudamel conducts the wiener philharmoniker at lucerne.
Just wrapping up my upload of dukes rendition of the nutcracker suite. Ellington and billy strayhorn wrote the queens suite for queen elizabeth ii who was presented with a. Duke ellington and billy strayhorn s nutcracker suite. Duke ellington dance of the floreadores waltz of the. Ellingtons band is not keen on tackling it, but he is not dissuaded. The ellington suites is an album by american pianist, composer, and bandleader duke ellington which collects three suites recorded in 1959, 1971, and 1972 released on the pablo label in 1976. Duke ellington nutcracker suite the cd for sale online. When ellington signs a record contract in 1960, he teams up with fellow musician billy strayhorn, and the two composers create a new spin on tchaikovskys nutcracker suite. Tchaikovsky the nutcracker suite a midsummer nights dream lp album mfp21.
The classical masterpiece is a holiday favorite and tinkering with something so well known is a bit risky. And this is the last of the nutcracker suite i do not intend to stick the other 2 suites up as of the moment, as the first is the best. The nutcracker suite, an album by duke ellington, strayhorn on spotify we and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Pacific symphonys upcoming program includes one of the jazz worlds few christmasthemed masterpieces. Duke ellington and his orchestra ellingtonstrayhorn. Licensed to youtube by kontor new media music, sme on behalf of school of jazz records. Nine unexpected uses of tchaikovskys the nutcracker classical. In 1956, duke ellington and billy strayhorn spent a week at the stratford shakespearean festival. The idea for combining the two nutcrackers came about when trombonist art baron, who had played with duke ellington, introduced steven richman to a 1960 recording of the nutcracker suite in ellington and billy strayhorns superb jazz arrangement. Ellington and strayhorn, always looking for new musical territory, produced suites for john steinbecks novel sweet thursday, tchaikovskys nutcracker suite and edvard griegs peer gynt. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite its a challenge to transform the nutcracker suites romantic orchestra into jumpin jazz melodies, but thats exactly what duke ellington and his collaborator, billy strayhorn, did. By doing this, the original is still fresh in the listeners mind when the swinging. Relatively late in his career, ellington decided to release an album devoted to orchestrations of other composers and chose tchaikovskys nutcracker suite not exactly a safe choice, since many consider tchaikovsky one of the great orchestrators. Duke ellington nutcracker suite strayhorn tchaikovsky album lp philips sbbl 594.
By doing this, the original is still fresh in the listeners mind when the swinging jazz version of it begins. Fantasia 1940as well as mopwielding mickey mouse, disneys featurelength cartoon has a gorgeously animated section. Wikizero the nutcracker suite duke ellington album. Duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn, tchaikovsky. Pacific symphony serves up tchaikovskys holiday hit, the. Richman loved it, and immediately decided he had to perform it sidebyside with tchaikovskys. 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. It is a bit startling that, as conductor steven richman observes in his booklet notes, that the ellington strayhorn nutcracker has apparently never until now been paired with the tchaikovsky version on a single album. With a background in the visual arts, ellingtons compositions and arrangements are often praised for. 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. In 1960, duke ellington and his longtime collaborator billy strayhorn adopted. Duke ellington and his orchestra the nutcracker suite 1960, vinyl. 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. At that age i had little knowledge of a world beyond my family and home.
Nutcracker trepak the slutcracker holiday for shoestrings fantasia. 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. 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. In 1960, duke ellington and billy strayhorn composed jazz interpretations of. Ellingtons band memebers were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a coolcat jazz number. Id call it nostalgia, but i was only four years old when it was first recorded. Caravan debuted with a combo that included ellington and was led by his clarinetist barney bigard, and a train was premiered by the duke ellington orchestra. In the early 1960s, ellington embraced recording with artists who had been friendly rivals in the past, or were younger musicians who focused on later styles. Lawrence brown, juan tizol, johnny hodges, and harry carney. It juxtaposes two versions of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite on the same disc. It was the first time his name received equal billing to ellingtons. Inspired by the performances of the bards plays, ellington promised that he and strayhorn would write a new shakespeareinspired suite for the next years festival. Duke ellington the nutcracker suite rtv slovenia symphony. Its a challenge to transform the nutcracker suites romantic orchestra into jumpin jazz melodies, but thats exactly what duke ellington and his collaborator, billy strayhorn, did.
Yet the nutcracker suite marks a milestone for strayhorn. Heres a clever, wellexecuted album with a clever, wellexecuted plan. 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. Duke ellington and billy strayhorns such sweet thunder. The acclaimed chicago jazz orchestra cjo will debut a new holiday music tradition in chicago when it presents duke ellington and billy strayhorns the nutcracker suite, a jazzinfused. 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. Ellingtons nutcracker, charlie browns christmas, stings soul cake and a special chanukah song will be sure to make the season bright. The dance of the sugar plum fairy became the swinging sugar rum cherry and the dance of the reed pipes is transformed into the sassy toot toot tootie toot. Duke ellingtons nutcracker with duke ellington orchestra. Colleen allen was the first musician i thought of who could reimagine the.
Shchelkunchik listen help info is an 1892 twoact ballet fairy ballet. Pre concert at california center for the arts, escondido. A number of the dukes original members of his 19381941 band performed on the recording including. Tis the season to swing, and i cant imagine a more irresistible album to set christmas in motion this year. However, the twinkly score and the classic ballet are especially. Duke ellington arabesque cookie arabian dance youtube. Ellington and strayhorn took some liberties with the suite, and this is apparent right from the start. Pacific symphony serves up tchaikovskys holiday hit, the nutcracker suite, with a. Nutcracker suite album for sale collectibles for everything.
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