MR SUN Plays Ellington’s Nutcracker

The Cedar Presents 

MR SUN Plays Ellington’s Nutcracker

Thursday, December 12, 2024/ Doors: 7:00 PM / Show: 7:30 PM

All Ages

Seated

$25 Advance, $30 Day of Show 

This is a seated show with general admission, first-come-first-served seating. The Cedar is happy to reserve seats for patrons who require special seating accommodations. To request seating or other access accommodations, please go to our .

For Cedar presented shows, online ticket sales typically end one hour before the door time, and then, based on availability, tickets will be available at the door.

Spearheaded by fiddle player Darol Anger, Mr. Sun is comprised of three generations of some of the sharpest minds to apply themselves to the American String Band. Mandolinist Joe K. Walsh (the Gibson Brothers) and guitarist Grant Gordy (David Grisman), along with bassist Aiden O'Donnell, blend with Anger to create a contemporary acoustic amalgamation of strings unlike any other. This holiday season, they'll be touring their project 'Mr Sun Plays Ellington's Nutcracker' - which is their take on the classic piece!

Mr Sun comprises some of the most original musicians to apply themselves to the American String Band.
Legendary fiddler is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent, and is a member of the original "nuclear" generation of pickers who extended Bluegrass, Jazz, and Classical music to find their common ground; Mr Sun is the latest iteration in that legacy.Joe K. Walsh is one of the foremost contemporary mandolinists, with 4 award-winning years in the Gibson Brothers, 3 solo recordings, and a Berklee professorship.Grant Gordy is a standout in the crowded field of Acoustic Guitar Wunderkinds. Grant's work was quickly recognized for its kaleidoscopic excellence and startling emotion, fusing Jazz, R&B, and Bluegrass concepts to an unprecedented degree.The group recently added the masterful bassist Aidan O'Donnell, a Brooklyn, New York (by way of Scotland) jazz veteran.
The 4 musical personalities of Mr Sun are so strong that one might imagine the group could explode if not for the palpable love and humor that emanate from every note they play together. In December 2024, Mr Sun will release and perform a new interpretation of Ellington's legendary Nutcracker Suite. On December 12th, that performance will grace The Cedar featuring TBD special guests.

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite contains some of the most beloved and familiar melodies in the Western world. Mr Sun seized upon the inspiration of Duke Ellington’s brilliant, sly, & urbane re-interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Suite as an opportunity to salute and re-invent this wildly multi-faceted work anew through the lens of the American String Band, a musical form which contains myriad styles and is presently engaged in a marathon upheaval of innovation and expansion.
On Mr Sun's new recording, the pieces of the Suite range from close interpretations of Billy Strayhorn’s original charts to intense extrapolations based on the spirit of the material. Mr Sun generally played original improvised solos, though some crucial musical statements by giants such as Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves were transcribed directly and played in their spirit. Most of Strayhorn’s startling original horn voicings have been preserved in bowed strings, with multi-mandolin parts adding a punchy edge.
There is one new additional piece, drawn directly from Tchaikovsky's Ballet, setting three themes in classic “Dawg Music” format. The Russian Dance is now hilariously full-on Bluegrass with banjo guest Alison Brown while still using the spy-movie intros, outros, and background lines of Strayhorn's original. Dobro King Jerry Douglas interprets an iconic Lawrence Brown trombone solo on Dance Of The Floreadores, now re-titled “(don’t) Walk On The Flowers”.
Now the band is touring nationally, recreating the sounds of the album – their core quartet is joined by additional regional string players to re-create a full orchestra of sound.
To learn more about MR SUN :

• Visit his website here

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, United States