Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite at the jazz loft thu dec 07 thu dec 14 location. 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 jazz loft big band will perform duke ellingtons jazz nutcracker suite. Jazz up the holiday season with a sample from duke ellingtons version of the nutcracker suite performed by david berger jazz. Formal attire is not required, but its always fun to get a little dressed up for a special event like the nutcracker ballet in san francisco. Duke ellington composer the nutcracker suite, for orchestra tchaikovskyellingtonstrayhorn wise music classical. Its a short walk from the sfjazz center to the war memorial opera house, which is where the eveninglength ballet the nutcracker made its north america premiere in the winter of 1944. San francisco, the place, coliseum, bolshoi ballet, san francisco ballet, tchaikovsky, david h.
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. Sat in the nosebleed section but could see and hear wonderfully. 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. Students use there prior knowledge of musical concepts and the instrumentation of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite to recognize similar melodies in ellingtons work to that of tchaikovsky. The show will highlight the jazz interpretations of tchaikovskys the nutcracker as arranged by duke ellington, as well as many other ellington hits. Ellington strayhorn jazz nutcracker suitecentral washington university jazz band 1. The nutcracker suite duke ellington similar allmusic. The audience loved it, and the san francisco ballet has performed the nutcracker every christmas eve and throughout the winter season since then. The number is set to 193040s jazzpop standards by duke ellington. Its a short walk from the sfjazz center to the war memorial opera house, which is where the eveninglength ballet the nutcracker made its. Duke ellingtons nutcracker with duke ellington orchestra. By 1960, the potential appeal of updating tchaikovskys score was obvious enough to a savvy musician like duke ellington.
Seeing as how it is christmas, i figured that another mass upload would be an appropriate gift to give out on youtube, and what better to start with, then duke ellingtons rendition of the. Peanut brittle brigade march this is one of the fine examples of the full ellington band turning a foursided march theme into a great jazz performance. In 1960, at the urging of billy strayhorn, the duke ellington orchestra recorded the nutcracker suite columbia, a brilliant jazz interpretation of tchaikovskys music. One of the most wellknown adaptations is donald byrds the harlem nutcracker. The san francisco ballets nutcracker has a chinese divertissement that represents a dragon from chinatown, which is culturally specific but more importantly, not demeaning. Principal dancer misa kuranaga of san francisco ballet is a special. Come and enjoy the classic nutcracker tale set to the jazz music of duke ellington. In 1960, duke ellington and billy strayhorn composed jazz interpretations of pieces from tchaikovskys score, recorded and released on lp as the nutcracker suite. The process of adaptation that ellington and strayhorn began continues today in new productions, like the oregon ballet theaters revision of george balanchines nutcracker to exclude problematic elements like the yellowface of the chinese dance. Featuring brand new choreography from dcbased dance troupe step afrika. The marquee at the apollo advertises duke ellingtons nutcracker suite.
This visually stunning, allnew production of nutcracker, choreographed by helgi tomasson artistic director of the san francisco ballet is a graceful and timeless adventure on a grand scale. Duke ellington and billy strayhorns 1960s jazz arrangement set the tone for this politically charged narrative about the civil rights movement. Ballets opening night of nutcracker is a plum sfgate. It is not a difficult thing to do but requires a revisionist attitude toward these dances. He also arranged music from tchaikovskys nutcracker ballet, and edvard griegs peer. His band and guest singers austin and washington breathe new life into the singular cultural fusion of tchaikovsky with the orchestral language of ellington.
The christmas eve setting of tchaikovskys ballet, the nutcracker, has helped it to become one of americas most beloved christmas traditions, even though the composer had nothing of the sort in mind. What to wear to the nutcracker ballet in san francisco. San francisco ballet the nutcracker, termed as the most beloved holiday tradition in the city of san francisco, is a performance by the san francisco ballet company. Students use there prior knowledge of musical concepts and the instrumentation of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite to recognize similar melodies in ellington s work to that of tchaikovsky. San francisco ballet chris hellman center for dance 455 franklin street san francisco, ca 94102. Duke ellingtons nutcracker baltimore symphony orchestra.
This lively production is accompanied by duke ellingtons version of the nutcracker suite and features a special tribute to america as clara travels across the country, showcasing dance. This christmas season, the joffrey ballet will premiere an entirely new scenario and. Listen before or after reading the nutcracker in harlem by t. The san francisco ballets nutcracker has a chinese divertissement that.
Event details about duke ellingtons nutcracker suite with marcus shelby orchestra in san francisco on december 21, 2019 watch, listen, photos and tickets. In 1999, this suite was supplemented with additional arrangements from the score by david berger for the harlem nutcracker, a production of the ballet by choreographer donald byrd born 1949 set during the harlem renaissance. Hoffmanns story the nutcracker and the mouse king although the original production was not a. This awesome ballet company was the very first to bring the nutcracker tradition to america and thus it is no surprise that its production is awe inspiring and quite unlike any. A number of the dukes original members of his 19381941 band performed on the recording including. 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. 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. The nutcracker suite is an album by american pianist, composer and bandleader duke. Set to david bergers version of the duke ellingtonbilly strayhorn. The new york city ballet premiered george balanchines staging of the work, which includes tchaikovskys complete, original ballet libretto. Billy and the duke at their best with some great original material. The scenic design by michael yeargan, setting the tale at the time of. In san francisco, its perfectly fine to attend a ballet in casual or business casual clothing.
Ellingtonstrayhorn jazz nutcracker suitecentral washington university jazz band 1. San diego, heres your 2019 nutcracker assortment the. Ellington, edward kennedy duke san francisco classical voice. Iowa is 2016s nutcracker capital of the world with new.
Ellingtons band members were not so sure that a classical ballet could become a coolcat jazz number. The bso will delight the entire family with the peanut brittle brigade and dance of the floreadors and a few old favorites too. Their unique ability to create interesting combinations. Duke ellingtons nutcracker suite with marcus shelby. An immediate sensation, the production unleashed an army of nutcrackers large and small that march across the country come the holidays, turning tchaikovskys spirited score into an enchanting. Duke ellington and the nutcracker suite san francisco.
Duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn, tchaikovsky duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn, tchaikovsky the nutcracker suite. Students are taught about duke ellington, the american jazz scene, jazz instruments and connections will be made to literature, social studies, music and writing. 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. 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. The story behind the jazzedup nutcracker weihuan chen. The far east suite the jaywalker studio sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, san francisco, chicago, new york. But recently, some versions have attempted to portray a more positive image. 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.
And the history of ballet, this city and the nutcrackerfind out. Anna harwell celenza duke ellingtons nutcracker suite. Native newyorker and trumpeter mike lewis presents duke ellingtons nutcracker suite, featuring the mike lewis big band and pianist tommy james. After the ensemble, ray nance and jimmy hamilton take solos, and there is a piano solo, one of the few in this suite. On the opening night of san francisco ballets nutcracker season, the rhinestones were polished to a dazzling gleam, the. San diego, heres your 2019 nutcracker assortment the san. Find similar albums to the nutcracker suite duke ellington on allmusic. Diablo ballet, hip hop nutcracker bring holiday spirit to sf bay area. Duke ellington and his orchestra the nutcracker suite. Duke ellington and his orchestra ellington, strayhorn.
This authentic edition of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite, as 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 institutions national museum of american history. In 1960, duke ellington and billy strayhorn arranged a clever adaptation of tchaikovskys nutcracker suite for the duke ellington orchestra. Babes in toyland december 1415, 2019 soreng theater, hult center, eugene or ballet fantastique reimagines victor herberts lost holiday fairytale classic with retroglam new choreography, wit, and whimsy to the live music of swing shift jazz orchestra, playing duke ellingtons nutcracker. Little known facts about the nutcracker suite and tchaikovsky. The san francisco ballets rendition is over the top in every wayi finally truly understood the story dancers, orchestra, all a 10. Though from a wide variety of backgrounds, the dancers share the same virtues of intensely elegant clarity, high refinement, and fervent commitment. The nutcracker suite duke ellington album wikipedia. Lawrence brown, juan tizol, johnny hodges, and harry carney. Ellingtons reworking of griegs peer gynt suites including in the hall of the mountain king and his tribute to john steinbeck suite thursday are also among his better extended works, really. Under the direction of helgi tomasson, san francisco ballet has long been among the worlds most elegant and refined companies. Vocalist danny bacher will join the band on other holiday music. Nutcracker rouge is a lush, fleshfueled frenzy of sensuality and spectacle.
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