Giacomo Smith's Big Band Presents Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite

Giacomo Smith’s Big Band Presents Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s near-40-year collaboration is one of the most consequential in the history of jazz music. The two had an uncanny symbiosis that sometimes verged on telepathy. Normally, the shy Strayhorn worked tirelessly in the background while the debonair Ellington performed in the limelight for audiences worldwide. While the pair had already co-produced innumerable master works prior to the 1960s’ Nutcracker Suite, the release of this album marked the first time that Strayhorn appeared on the cover of an Ellington album. He is centre stage, seated next to the maestro and smiling serenely. In retrospect, St