The New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band's "The Pan American Nutcracker Suite" Celebrated a Global Musical Adventure -

By Andrew Poretz***Musician and band leader Joe McCarthy brought his New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band to Dizzy’s Club on December 14 for two sold-out performances, celebrating their excellent new album, The Pan American Nutcracker Suite. The CD is described in its promotional materials as “a global musical adventure that celebrates and unites the brilliance of Russian composer Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s timeless masterpiece, The Nutcracker Suite, with the beautifully diverse musical traditions of the Americas and beyond.” Its music certainly made for a thrilling program. While the CD cannot possibly compare with the immediacy of the concert, it is eminently listenable, both as a whole and by track. Beware of ear worms!

The band, comprised of 18 musicians* (see below) and led by drummer Joe McCarthy, is supported by a significant brass section (four trumpeters and four trombonists, including a bass trombone), a versatile reed section of five multi-instrumentalists, a pianist, bassist and guitarist, and, most importantly, a Latin percussionist (Luisito Quintero). McCarthy, who co-wrote the arrangements with saxophonist Vince Norman, was a drummer with the United States Naval Academy Band for 20 years. He looks the part, down to the crisp white shirt, along with the bearing and countenance of a strong leader.

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite was already somewhat global in nature, if you count the “Arabian Dance” and “Chinese Dance.” But to borrow a cliché, one might describe this particular eight-composition suite as “Not your father’s Nutcracker.” McCarthy and Norman take perhaps the most familiar orchestral music suite in history, rearranging it for a big band in multiple styles, with an emphasis on Afro-Cuban rhythms and cultural diversity. Considering that Dizzy’s is part of “Jazz at Lincoln Center,” and that Lincoln Center is the former site of “San Juan Hill,” you might also call it “The Nutcracker Meets West Side Story.”

The second piece of the suite, “March,” is the melody that nearly everyone has heard in some way, whether in its original orchestral form, or perhaps in a film or cartoon, particularly Walt Disney’s Fantasia. This iteration alternates between the more traditional march and melody, where one could picture soldiers marching in their usual precision steps, with delightful spasms of Latin dance. A constant presence throughout Pan American Nutcracker Suite is a dramatic, brassy ending chord that was something of a trademark of the arrangements.

At one point, bassist Boris Kozlov seemed to be tuning his instrument, but these sounds were actually the beginning of bass slides that became “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

Among the many highlights of the evening were Vinny Valentino’s outstanding guitar solos, which, with Quintero’s fierce percussion work, gave a Santana-like feel. His contributions on congas, bongos and shakers gave the suite its Latin bona fides, which cannot be overstated. And in “Waltz of the Flowers,” the interplay among the trombone section—a veritable “Dance of the Trombones”–was positively sizzling.

At the conclusion of the suite, a long and well-deserved ovation warranted an encore. Here, the band turned to “The Christmas Song,” giving it the same “Pan American” treatment. The signature ending chord made its way several times throughout the song to delineate different aspects of the arrangement.

Chuck Berry once sang, “Roll over Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news.” The Pan American Nutcracker Suite is a collaborative effort to solve what the creators considered a “problem,” stated thus: “Traditional representation of the Nutcracker may not necessarily portray all communities and audiences. In a need for representation, different adaptations can be exclusive to certain communities.” This reviewer finds that premise curious, particularly with a band predominantly comprised of white men (and no women), although the ear is color blind.

The musical concept of adapting this beloved Russian classical suite and infusing it with Afro-Cuban rhythms stands on its own as a solid musical idea. It needs no defense by way of the band’s core mission statement, which probably serves more to dissuade any “longhair” purists’ cries of Tchaikovsky rolling over in his grave. It’s just great music.

For more information on this project, click here. The album and tracks are available on all streaming platforms.

* The New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band personnel are:

Mark Patterson | trombone
John Yao | trombone
Alan Ferber trombone
James Borowski | bass trombone

Luis Perdomo | piano
Vinny Valentino | guitar
Boris Kozlov | bass
Luisito Quintero | percussion