The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, Inc.

and the American Tap Dance Foundation, Inc.

present

CrackerJazz : Compositions from Duke Ellington’s 1960 Nutcracker Suite.

Mercedes Ellington, Tony Waag, and multi-Grammy nominated Bobby Sanabria and his MULTIVERSE Big Band, join together to honor this legendary icon of American Jazz. Included in the program are special appearances by jazz vocalists Sharon K Janda, Antoinette Montague and Ty Stevens as well as tap dance performances by DeWitt Fleming, Jr., Felipe Galganni, members of the Tap City Youth Ensemble, Karen Callaway Williams, belly dancer Anna Pipoyan and surprises!

This Nutcracker Suite features jazz interpretations of "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky, with arrangements by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.