A Yule standard, in swing time

It’s hard to avoid Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Ballet Suite” when the holiday season rolls around. There’s a version for every taste, from classical originals to contemporary re-imaginings. But none is more engaging than the set of variations for big jazz band written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in 1960.

On Thursday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the Pasadena Jazz Orchestra, conducted by John Clayton, performed the Ellington-Strayhorn suite with a presentation by the Lula Washington Dance Theatre.

The Tchaikovsky “Nutcracker” was one of several sources that inspired jazz versions by Ellington and Strayhorn. (Others included the Shakespeare-based “Such Sweet Thunder,” Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suites” and the John Steinbeck-inspired “Suite Thursday.”)

But it was the “Nutcracker” that seemed to trigger the most compelling music. The orchestrations -- virtual re-compositions in some cases -- use the basic big band instrumentation to create a marvelous array of sounds and textures.

Ellington further transformed the individual segments of the original “Nutcracker” by revising titles to better fit the contemporary orientation of the music -- for example, from “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” to “Sugar Rum Cherry” and from “Waltz of the Flowers” to “Danse of the Floreadores.”

The Pasadena Jazz Orchestra performed the music with a convincing authenticity, swinging hard in the rhythmic passages, handling the subtle colorations of the Ellington- Strayhorn harmonies with the right combination of technical accuracy and emotional resonance.

The presence of Ricky Woodard in the alto saxophone chair and Louis Van Taylor III playing baritone saxophone further enhanced arrangements that emphasized the timbres of those two instruments.

Washington’s choreography for her talented dancers set aside the “Nutcracker” story in favor of interpreting the music itself. The result was a splendidly diverse set of dances embracing hip-hop, the Lindy Hop, waltzes, African, modern and ballet, all of it done with the high quality that is an essential element in the company’s performances.

The richly entertaining evening also included an opening set by young singer Renee Olstead, with a brief guest appearance by singer Barbara Morrison. Olstead, now 15, received her first significant exposure two years ago via performances at Pasadena Jazz Institute programs.

With a new album in the top 10 of the jazz charts, Olstead -- whose set was devoted to Christmas songs -- sang with the bravura enthusiasm of a youthful star in the making.