Musical Advent Calendar, Day 19: Nutcracker Overture

My Mission: One holiday-themed, non-carol song every day between now & Christmas. It's my own version of an Advent calendar. I may succeed, I may fail, but there will at least be some good music posted ... music you won't hear at the mall, that hopefully won't make you end up looking like him. ----->

(via www.jazzbluesclub.com)December 19th: Overture to Nutcracker Suite, arr. Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn. (Often heard and seen this time of year, this arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite ranks among my favorite of any "crossover" [for lack of better term] albums. It's such typical Ellingtonia: a great Paul Gonsalves tenor solo, Harry Carney's great bari sound, and a deep-rooted swing. There's a good video of Jazz at Lincoln Center performing it, too.)

(You can see previous songs here. Email me or comment below if you have a tune suggestion!)