Duke Ellington's Nutcracker

Duke Ellington Orchestra

TCHAIKOVSKY (arr. Strayhorn & Ellington): The Nutcracker Suite

Additional works to be announced

Jazz up your holidays with Duke Ellington’s dazzling reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, performed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra—the only ensemble directly carrying on the tradition from Duke himself. Arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, whose nearly 30 years of collaboration together produced some of the most beloved jazz standards of all time, this arrangement combines Tchaikovsky’s original themes with the unique textures and interpretations of jazz music.

Considered one of the greatest jazz composers of all time, Duke Ellington had an enormous impact on the popular music of the late 20th century. His professional career as a musician spanned more than six decades, and among his more than two thousand songs are hits including “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good,” and “I’m Beginning the See the Light.” Ellington was the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was awarded a posthumous Special Pulitzer Prize for his lifetime contributions to music and culture.