Terell Stafford and the Philly POPS Jazz Orchestra present ‘The Harlem Nutcracker’

The Philly POPS Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia returns to the stage with its annual holiday tradition-The Philly POPS Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia Holiday Celebration, December 18th at 8pm at Penn Live Arts.

The Philly POPS Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, under the direction of POPS Artistic Director for Jazz Terell Stafford, will present Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn‘s Harlem Nutcracker. Released in 1960, Ellington and Strayhorn’s Harlem Nutcracker infused the music of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite with vivacious, jazzy energy, featuring song names like “Peanut Brittle Brigade” (based on the “March”) and “Sugar Rum Cherry” (based on the “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy”). The suite shows off Ellington and Strayhorn’s versatility as composers and arrangers-with the pieces covering a wide range of musical sounds, emotions and locales. This is the JOP’s seventh presentation of the Harlem Nutcracker, a tradition started to honor the great jazz saxophonist, Jimmy Heath.

For details and tickets, click here: https://tickets.pennlivearts.org/0/73589.