Duke Ellington and His Orchestra : The Nutcracker Suite Columbia CS8341 - STEREO. This a no brainer. Do you really need sales notes of this LP? Stop a second and put on your thinking cap. Duke Ellington plays Tchaikovsky. I play this at my Christmas party every year and you should see my guests groove out to this. It's amazing how swinging and sexy the Nutcracker Suite can sound. "Sugar Rum Cherry" (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) sounds like strip tease music. I was down to my boxer shorts before my mother walked into the living room. In fact I play this long after the holidays have passed. A real gem! Johnny Zhivago Personnel: Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney (reeds); Ray Nance, Willie Cook, Andres Meringuito, Eddie Mullins (trumpets); Juan Tizol (valve trombone); Lawrence Brown, Britt Woodman, Booty Wood (tbns.); Sam Woodyard (drums); Aaron Bell (bass); Duke Ellington (piano); Procope plays Japanese flute and Tizol plays tambourine on “Arabesque”.