In adapting The Nutcracker Suite, Ellington and Strayhorn’s changed the instrumentation, harmonies and rhythms to suit the jazz big band. He also added an element completely unheard in Tchaikovsky’s music – improvisation. To improvise is to invent music at the moment of performance (usually by embellishing the elements of a theme or melody that a composer has written down), and it is central to jazz. In arranging The Nutcracker Suite, Ellington and Strayhorn’s gave his band members the freedom to express their own musical vision through improvised solos.
Activity
Once again, listen to Ellington and Strayhorn’s overture and re-familiarize your students with the theme. Next play Ellington and Strayhorn’s “Entr’Acte,” listening for the re-emergence of the overture’s theme. Here band members are given the opportunity to reinterpret the theme, improvising countless variations on the familiar melody. Appreciating the art of improvisation is an essential part of understanding jazz.
