Two nights, two shows each. December 12th and 13th, shows at 6:30 and 8:45.

https://thejazzstation.org/get-tickets/upcoming-shows/#!event-list

In 1960, some 68 years after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky penned his famous “The Nutcracker” ballet, Duke Ellington and his band were in residency in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel. While there, Ellington and his longtime collaborator, composer, and arranger, Billy Strayhorn received a call from Columbia Records producer, Irving Townsend. Townsend offers Ellington complete freedom to write and record anything he wants if he signs with the Columbia label. Duke suggests a concept to “create music that can’t be categorized.” Since Ellington likes to perform dance music and Tchaikovsky’s work is a ballet, Strayhorn suggests they reinvent the holiday classic, “The Nutcracker Suite.”