Billy STrayhorn and Duke Ellington at a rehearsal
Composers, arrangers
Collaborators for almost three decades
Photo source: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale Library
From the collection: Langston Hughes, 1902-1967
The story of Roosevelt’s Jazz Nutcracker begins with a Dutch jazz scholar’s manuscript and a cardboard box that arrived just one month before the first performance. Inside the box were rare copies of all of Billy Strayhorn’s transcriptions of the Nutcracker Suite, arguably the most impressive arrangements from this period in Strayhorn’s creativity. The loose sheets of music were the prize after a lengthy quest by then-Director Scott Brown to find the score and parts, a hunt that began at the urging of music colleague and fellow teacher, Chuck Stowell (1921-2006), who shared Brown’s belief in searching out unique performance opportunities which challenged their students intellectually and artistically.
It’s demanding. It’s authentic. It has rich musical themes and is totally American—and it’s fun. The kids get the humor in it.
—Scott Brown
The quest had led Mr. Brown to to Walter van de Leur, a Dutch jazz scholar who specialized in Strayhorn’s contribution and collaboration with Duke Ellington.
Not just another ragged tune
“Rather than turning to jazzed-up renditions of the movements … Strayhorn and Ellington virtually recomposed the ballet, using a wide array of techniques to render the original into a new and strikingly personal work,” Mr. van de Leur wrote in “Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn.”
“In Strayhorn’s hands Tchaikovsky’s four-bar transition from the first to the second theme turns into a melancholic wah-wah trombone feature,” he explained. “All his other movements show the same high level of musical detail, a firm balance between wit, irony, and tribute.”
Now with the unbound score and parts in hand, Roosevelt Jazz student musicians and their director had just one month to prepare for their first performance. “It was a very scary moment, especially for me,” Mr. Brown recalled. “We had already booked Benaroya’s Nordstrom Recital Hall. I thought, Oh my God, what’ve I got my program into?”
But that first performance in 1999 proved to be more than just successful—it launched what would become one of Seattle’s most cherished holiday traditions. Roosevelt Jazz became one of the few high school programs in the nation to perform the complete Strayhorn/Ellington Nutcracker Suite, maintaining the complex original arrangements while showcasing the exceptional talent of its student musicians.
Pictured here is album jacket art from the 1960 release by Columbia Records, next to Roosevelt Jazz art promoting the 2003 recording, and today’s season. Roosevelt Jazz Nutcracker memorabilia is available for purchase at our online store or at performances.
Twenty-five years later, Roosevelt Jazz continues to honor this legacy, bringing fresh energy to these challenging arrangements while preserving their historical significance. Join us this December as we celebrate a quarter century of this remarkable tradition. Experience the magic that began with a cardboard box of loose sheet music and grew into a defining piece of Seattle’s holiday season.