Giacomo Smith’s Big Band — 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