Out On the Weekend, pt 3.: The People’s Liberation Big Band Cracks Nuts

From 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at All Souls Unitarian Universalist There-Is-No-Heaven-Suckers Church, I got my first taste of the People’s Liberation Big Band, and, oh, what a blessed dollop of hot, salty jazz-rock-latin-chamber music it was, folks.

As you can see from this flier, the program was called WENKYHYNK, which sounds like “chimichangavich” when you say it in Russian and means — yes! The Nutrcracker Suite by Piotor Ilyich Tchaikovsky!

Conducted by maestro Brad Cox, who also does some of the arranging, the People’s Lib is a musical collective dedicated to new music. Though the group could most easily be filed under jazz, it does way more than just swing. Latin, world, classical, rock and experimental noise are also in the group’s bag of tricks. This past Sunday, the group performed its own version of the Christmas staple. It was adapted from the original score by various members of PLBB, all of whom are immensely talented and sharp local musicians who deserve your attention and support.