Hear Tchaikovsky’s seasonal classic swing to life when the Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra gives a rare performance of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s masterful adaptation "The Nutcracker Suite" accompanied by a selection of jazz takes on songs of the season.
Tickets: $52 Adult • $44 Senior • $36 Student
W: evergreenculturalcentre.ca/events/the-nutcracker-suite/
T: 604•927•6555
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in 1893. So how did he come to meet world-famous jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington in 1960?
At an imaginative musical meeting of minds of course when Ellington and his close collaborator Billy Strayhorn concocted a swinging jazz orchestra arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet score for "The Nutcracker." Infused with Ellington’s trademark wit and sophistication the Ellington orchestra’s reimagining of The Nutcracker Suite has become a classic in its own right. The fun and frisky adaptation transforms not only the music but also the movement titles as Tchaikovsky’s "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" becomes Ellington & Strayhorn’s sexy and sultry "Sugar Rum Cherry" "Dance of the Reed Pipes" becomes "Toot Toot Tootie Toot" and "March" becomes the spirited "Peanut Brittle Brigade".
The concert is presented by Legstand and the Brothers Elgstrand Gregory and Kris who started a theatre company in the basement of their Coquitlam home in 1993. This special concert their first in Coquitlam is a labour of love borne out of a shared affection for jazz orchestra music and the music of Duke Ellington in particular and the spirit of the season.
Fred Stride has been a professional musician in Vancouver for almost fifty years and has been leading his own jazz orchestra since 1993. Besides performing Fred’s own compositions and arrangements The Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra has also performed several classic big band scores including Duke Ellington’s Black Brown and Beige Stan Kenton/Johnny Richards’ Cuban Fire and with Dee Daniels several concerts of Ellington’s Sacred Music. Cellar Jazz released a recording of Fred’s compositions for his orchestra Forward Motion. Fred’s most recent recording Saskatchewan Suite features music he composed and conducted for the Saskatchewan All Star Big Band and is available on Chronograph Records. You can learn more about Fred and his music at fredstride.com.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Evergreen Cultural Centre, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam, Canada
