‘Tis the season to swing, and I can’t imagine a more irresistible album to set Christmas in motion this year: the 1892 orchestral Nutcracker Suite we know and love, alongside Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s big-band answer to Tchaikovsky from 1960. Far from a slapdash attempt to jazz up the classics this arrangement is testament to Ellington’s particular genius (and the inventiveness of his conservatorium-trained assistant Strayhorn, who deserves his equal billing). It’s heard here not only in the first recording since the Duke’s orchestra more than 50 years ago but also in its first pairing with the original, Steve Richman conducting both versions with his New York ensemble.

For a fun exercise, try mixing them up – a Tchaikovsky movement followed by its jazz counterpart. I did just that with the Dance of the Mirlitons and the cheekily renamed Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed-Pipes), the latter is a miniature masterclass in Ellington’s perfectly balanced orchestration as the famous tune passes from staccato clarinets to slyly muted trumpets.

It doesn’t get much steamier than the burlesque Sugar Rum Cherry, the crystalline glockenspiel replaced by Lew Tabackin’s hip-rolling, bluesy tenor sax. The whole thing runs a cool ten minutes slower than the ballet suite, but the band is as crisp as peanut brittle (the Duke had a legendary sweet tooth, after all) and the drums will keep you dancing.