Nutcracker Swing

Among the numerous annual holiday events in your neighborhood, it’s a good bet that at least one production of “The Nutcracker Suite” ballet will be taking place. It’s produced by the finest  ballet companies — as in the American Ballet Theater — as well as your local dance school. The “Sleeping Beauty” ballet premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1890 with the now famous music score composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky was a master orchestrator, assigning his distinctive melodies to exactly the right instrument. If Russia can claim Tchaikovsky as one of its premier composers, America certainly can put Duke Ellington on the same pedestal.

Ellington, composer of approximately two thousand compositions, rarely arranged music that was not of his own creation. Fortunately for holiday listeners, he teamed with co-composer Billy Strayhorn for an intriguing version of “The Nutcracker Suite” performed by The Ellington Orchestra and recorded on a 1960 LP titled “Three Suites.”

Ellington and Strayhorn managed to make Tchaikovsky swing. Their take on each movement of the suite retained the flavor of the dance and added swinging ensemble parts and sparkling solos. The Duke was an equally skilled orchestrator, but he wrote for individuals rather than specific instruments. Veteran members Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton and Laurence Brown shine throughout the recasting of this holiday classic.

Ellington did not lack for a sense of humor, reflected in his tweaked titles. Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Reed-Pipes” was renamed “Toot Toot Tootsie Toot” and “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” became “Sugar Rum Cherry.”

A search on the Internet will yield multiple versions of the Ellington/ Strayhorn/ Tchaikovsky collaboration, including live performances by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. I highly recommend purchasing the CD. It will provide pleasurable holiday listening, and will surely inspire delight for those who have not heard it before.

Seasonal music plays a significant role in end-of-the-year gigs for musicians. You can read my previous musing from 2009 entitled Christmas Time is Here.

Nice Guys Finish First

I am not a huge fan of Christmas music (see my posting “Christmas Time is Here,” 11/30/09) but there is no lack of hip holiday jazz. This past Wednesday I decided to spin two hours worth on my weekly WHCL radio show and I received an unexpected gift in the form of some memories.

The Jazz Archive interviewing has focused mostly on older musicians for obvious reasons. These jazz veterans invariably offered wisdom and humor via their stories and a wonderful aura of class. As the years progressed we met with artists from the middle generation. Some were already established, others were paying their dues (a process that rarely ends). Their experiences are surely worth documenting but I found that often the wisdom/class thing had yet to emerge. When I played selections from John Pizzarelli’s CD Let’s Share Christmas and Jingle All the Way by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, I recalled two real-life stories that were not documented in their interviews but are now worth sharing.

My older daughter, Alanna, did her student teaching in New York City in 2002. She’s an instrumental music teacher now, and it’s her personal mission to make music in school memorable for her junior high students. One day she called me from New York City and said “Dad, the John Pizzarelli Trio is playing the Blue Note tonight. Can you get me in?” My kids have this notion that I’m a much bigger fish than I am, but nevertheless I figured the least I could do was try. Not wanting to waste any time, I went right to the top and called Ruth Pizzarelli (John’s mother and Bucky’s wife, who we had met numerous times at Hamilton). Ruth quickly took action and asked for the details about what Alanna wanted (number of guests, time) and said she’d call me back. About ten minutes later she did return the call and said it was all set up, that Alanna and a friend would be guests of the band, and thus not have to pay the $50 per set cover charge.

When Alanna got to the door and gave her name, she was taken to a table where John’s sister was sitting. In addition to the free cover charge, it was also insisted upon that Alanna and her guest receive a free steak dinner, and stay the whole night, not just for one set. Before the gig started, John approached the table dressed as a waiter complete with apron, pen and pad, and pretended nobody at the table knew who he was. Everybody got a good laugh out of it, and John joined his sister and Alanna for a few minutes of conversation before taking the stage with his trio.

After a while, Alanna went into the ladies’ room and called me on her cell phone, breathlessly explaining what John had done, and how she thought it was so cool. So there you go — John made a fan for life and it’s a great story for the kid and me too.

The second story involves my younger daughter Janine, who was fortunate to attend Hamilton at a time when the Archive was actively engaged in the interview process. One day she called and said “Dad, Béla Fleck’s coming to campus. I think you should interview him.” I thought it was a good idea but rather a long shot, as often the more success a performer has received, the less likely it is to be able to get through his “people” (i.e. manager, agent) to get a yes or no. It’s interesting to note that when younger artists come to perform at Hamilton, certain Young Lions feel it is not worth their time to sit for an interview, in stark contrast to the majority of the above-mentioned veterans. Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to obtain a “yes” to Béla’s interview once the appropriate contacts were made. All-in-all, the interview itself was a memorable one. Béla seemed to enjoy it, and he provided some welcome insights from a performer who plays — of all unusual things — jazz banjo.

The story here, however, is my daughter’s interaction with Béla that day. She scored the job of escorting Béla from his sound check on campus, to the location where the interview was to occur. It was a long walk across campus, and I was pleased she was going to have some private time talking to him, as it was a job many of her classmates would envy.

The surprising thing about this walk was that Béla didn’t talk about himself at all. He asked questions of my daughter, such as what her plans were upon graduation. Being undecided at that time, Janine discussed her ambitions with Béla. He gave her this piece of advice: “be very careful what you decide to do from here, because that decision will influence the rest of your life.” Janine took this as sage advice. She hadn’t previously considered that her choice for master’s education needed to be judiciously considered, as that decision is close to irrevocable.

Though I doubt Béla remembers the incident, it stuck with Janine in a big way. What he said was practical advice, which every parent appreciates. Janine was happy about her one-on-one time with Béla, and he made a fan for life.

So there are two examples of nice guys finishing first, and deservedly so. The stories speak for themselves. It is nice to know that jazz class is being carried on as more and more veterans leave us.

Béla and John belong to a small circle of accomplished musicians who appeal to multiple generations. They’re among the artists that everyone in our family enjoys, other examples being Nik Kershaw, Eric Clapton and Moxy Früvous.

By the way, if you want some hip Christmas tunes the above mentioned CD’s will fill the bill. John Pizzarelli sings and plays beautifully over superb arrangements by Johnny Mandel, Don Sebesky and other top arrangers while the Flecktones take your well-worn holiday tunes to places where no band has ever gone before. The opening version of “Jingle Bells” is worth the price of admission, and their take on “The 12 Days of Christmas” has a new surprise every four bars, perfect for listeners with a short attention span, like yours truly.

And by the way, Béla, if you’re reading this, I hope you gets lots of residuals off your tunes that NPR so frequently employs as bumper music.