Joe McCarthy's New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band to Embark on Pan American Nutcracker Suite Holiday Tour

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's immortal 1892, eight-part ballet suite, The Nutcracker, is loved the world over and has been performed in a wide variety of styles, including the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn 1960 LP. On September 9, 2022, drummer/bandleader Joe McCarthy and his New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band added a different groove when he released The Pan American Nutcracker Suite, a swinging adaptation of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece with Latin Jazz and African-derived rhythms from the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

McCarthy's Big Band hits the road for the holidays in a special seven-night tour at two venues in New York City followed by stops in Honolulu, Seattle, and Costa Mesa. The first and the last date on the tour features The Pan American Suite Reimagined: A Fusion of Big Band Music, Dance and Visual Art.

McCarthy and his big band will perform selections from The Pan American Nutcracker Suite album, which LatinJazz.net described as "a five-star performance from end to end." Recast in McCarthy's arresting arrangements (with co-arranger Vince Norman) and driven by his in-the-pocket drumming, the recording includes the infectious, Afro-grooved take on "Overture," the martial mambo-fired bolero "March," and a cha-cha-cha/6/8 rendition of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." "Trepak" reminiscences in Ellington's terrific tempos, in contrast to the atmospheric Gil Evans "Sketches of Spain" "Out of the Cool" vibe on "Arabian Dance." The parade processions form a Silk Road of syncopation on "Chinese Dance," matched in intensity by the Brazilian partido alto rhythms on "Dance of the Reed Flutes" and the Venezuelan joropo beats on "Waltz of the Flowers," which was nominated for the 2023 Latin Grammy in the Best Arrangement category.

A graduate of The University of North Texas, a 20-year veteran of The United States Naval Academy Band, and a former adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan, Georgetown, and George Mason Universities, McCarthy drew upon his vast experience and knowledge to transform Tchaikovsky's music.

"I did an enormous amount of study and preparation for "The Pan American Nutcracker Suite," McCarthy says. "My job was to honor Tchaikovsky, but also make the music true to a certain sound I was hearing. We drew on influences from Venezuela, from traditional Chinese drumming, from New Orleans. In one movement, we swing out of respect to Duke's version, but we didn't copy anything. We're able to transport people to a different place."

THE PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE HOLIDAY TOUR

For tickets and more information, click here.

*Artists Subject to Change

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21 | 7:30 pm | PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE REIMAGINED

Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY

MUSICIANS: Joe McCarthy, drums; John Benitez, bass; Jo Ann Daugherty, piano; Luisito Quintero, percussion; Vinny Valentino, guitar; Nick Marchione, Tatum Greenblatt, John Lake and Diego Urcola, trumpet; Alejandro Aviles and Andrew Gould, alto saxophone; Ben Kono and Luis Hernandez, tenor saxophone; Frank Basile, baritone saxophone; Mark Patterson, Sam Blakeslee and John Yao, trombone; Jeff Nelson, bass trombone DANCERS: Genesis Selena Tornes, Adriel Flete, William A. Ervin, Jr., Shani Talmor, Brayan Llamoza and Natalia Nieves under the direction of celebrated New York choreographer/director Maria Torres and Cuban-born, New York-based visual artist Claudia Mulet

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 | 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE

Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY

• MUSICIANS: Joe McCarthy, drums; John Benitez, bass; Jo Ann Daugherty, piano; Luisito Quintero, percussion; Vinny Valentino, guitar; Nick Marchione, Tatum Greenblatt, John Lake and Diego Urcola, trumpet; Alejandro Aviles and Andrew Gould, alto saxophone; Ben Kono and Luis Hernandez, tenor saxophone; Frank Basile, baritone saxophone; Mark Patterson, Sam Blakeslee and John Yao, trombone; James Borowski, trombone

SATURDAY/SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 - 17 | 6:00 pm PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE

'Iolani School, 563 Kamoku Street, Honolulu, HI

MUSICIANS: Joe McCarthy, drums; Shawn Conley, bass; Stefan Karlsson, piano; Lopaka Colon, percussion; Nick Marchione, Peter Clagett, Remy Ohara, and Parker Nakamura, trumpet; Tim Ishii and Susan Ishii, alto saxophone; Chris McGuire and Allen Won, tenor saxophone; Todd Yukumoto, baritone saxophone; Les Benedict, Curtis Abe, and Mark Thomas, trombone; Jensen Lung, bass trombone

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 - 20 | 7:30 PM PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 6th Ave, Seattle, WA

MUSICIANS: Joe McCarthy, drums; Boris Kozlov, bass; Jo Ann Daugherty, piano; Luisito Quintero, percussion; Demarcus Baysmore, guitar; Nick Marchione, Michael Van Bebber, Ray Larsen, Jay Thomas, trumpet; Alejandro Aviles, Nathaniel Schleimer, alto saxophone; Travis Ranney and Michael Brockman, tenor saxophone; Alex Dugdale, baritone saxophone; Stuart Hambley, Jerome Smith, Conner Eisenmenger, trombone; Audrey Stangland, bass trombone

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22 | 7:30 pm PAN AMERICAN NUTCRACKER SUITE REIMAGINED

The Segerstrom Center for The Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA

MUSICIANS: Joe McCarthy, drums; Boris Kozlov, bass; Jo Ann Daugherty, piano; Luisito Quintero, percussion; Vinny Valentino, guitar; Nick Marchione, Ryan DeWeese, John Lake and Diego Urcola, trumpet; Alejandro Aviles, Brian Scanlon, alto saxophone; Bob Shepherd, Luis Hernandez, tenor saxophone; Frank Basile, baritone saxophone; Sam Blakeslee and John Yao, trombone; James Borowski, bass trombone DANCERS: Adriel Flete, Shani Talmor, Brayan Llamoza and Natalia Nieves under the direction of celebrated New York choreographer/director Maria Torres and Cuban-born, New York-based visual artist Claudia Mulet

Joe McCarthy's previous recordings include The Caribbean Jazz Project/Afro Bop Alliance featuring Dave Samuels, which won a 2008 Latin Jazz Album Grammy, and was also nominated in the Latin Jazz category at the 2009 Grammy Awards. McCarthy's previous recordings include Encarnacion, Una Mas, Camino Nuevo, Angel Eyes, Revelation and Upwards, which brings us to The Pan American Nutcracker Suite.

"I knew that I could come up with something that had not been done before," McCarthy remarked about the suite. "I was certain that no one would play it this way. I'm classically trained; in my earlier life I played the piece a billion times. But this was going to be entirely different."

For more information on Joe McCarthy's New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band, click here.

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