Marquee Shuffle

Marquee Shuffle comes at the end of Act 1 of Harlem Nutcracker where Clara and her husband are at the front door of the nightclub of her dreams and the two doormen carry on considering whether to let them in the club. It’s a humorous shuffle a la Louis Jordan—Rhythm Changes with a different bridge based on Tchaikovsky’s melody. Who knew Pyotr was so jive? The head is played by flugelhorn and tenor, and then it’s greasy tenor solo all the way. No difficulties at all for the trumpets or saxes. The trombone unison on the bridge is a bit tricky, which makes it a Grade 5.

5433 No doubles

Style: Fast Swing/Shuffle

Solos: tenor sax

Grade: 5

Hear this arrangement: