Friends ensure late musician Alan Lawson’s show will go on

A labor of love.

There’s at least a bit of truth to every cliche — and more than a bit when it comes to Saturday afternoon’s “Music of the Nutcracker” concert at the Winchester Cultural Center.

The music begins with Tchaikovsky’s beloved “Nutcracker” ballet score, from “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” to “March of the Wooden Soldiers.”

But it’s filtered through the sensibilities of longtime Las Vegas musician Alan Lawson, whose jazz-flavored arrangements give the familiar melodies a big-band swing.

Veteran clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger and composer Lawson’s resume includes stints with such legendary Strip headliners as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand — to say nothing of dozens of musicals, six Jerry Lewis telethons, Cheap Trick’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Orchestra,” the Las Vegas Philharmonic and more.

He also taught at the Las Vegas Academy, overseeing the school’s award-winning jazz bands.

For the past year or two, Lawson has organized concerts at the Winchester center featuring his compositions — including one in April showcasing his classical and jazz melodies.

At that time, “everyone knew how sick he was,” Patrick Gaffey, the Winchester’s cultural program supervisor, says of Lawson’s long battle with cancer, which ended with his death last week.

Lawson had already written the “Nutcracker” arrangements, but emailed Gaffey in late September to cancel the concert because of his ill health.

But Gaffey reasoned that they had the arrangements and people would want to hear them. So he contacted cellist Moonlight Tran and asked her to organize the concert in his stead.

“Alan wanted to cancel, because he knew he was going to be so sick,” notes Tran, who worked with Lawson in the orchestra accompanying “The Producers” at Bally’s.

But Gaffey “trusts me and I can’t fail him,” Tran says of organizing the musicians, calling rehearsals and coordinating “a lot of loose ends” before Saturday’s concert. (She was even on the job during a recent visit to Korea.)

The musicians participating in Saturday’s concert are billed as Alan Lawson’s Little Big Band, but an equally accurate name would be Friends of Alan Lawson, because the players are all “Alan’s friends he has worked with,” Tran says.

Friends such as Dan Philippus, who’s rehearsing alongside fellow “ShowStoppers” sax players Bill Leary and Dave Stambaugh.

Like Tran, Philippus played with Lawson in the “Producers” orchestra. They also worked together on Lawson’s final Strip show, the Wynn’s “Sinatra: Dance With Me,” and played with Frank Sinatra Jr.

“Alan always has this kind of joke: ‘I’m in the twilight of a mediocre career,’ ” Philippus recalls. “There was nothing mediocre about his career. He worked with the best of the best, back in the good old days of Vegas, with the (casino) house bands.”

Lawson’s music — at least the “Nutcracker” arrangements for Saturday’s concerts — “keeps you on your toes,” according to Stambaugh, another “Producers” and “Sgt. Pepper’s” colleague.

“He writes ’em in interesting and challenging ways,” adds Leary, who led the band during a recent run-through of the Tchaikovsky-meets-Lawson charts.

Although the players are working professionals — and members of Musicians Local 369 — union officials agreed to a reduced pay scale for Saturday’s concert, according to Tran.

“It’s mostly about Alan,” notes Jack Gaughan, president of Local 369, who (not surprisingly) worked alongside Lawson in the orchestra when “Chicago” played Mandalay Bay.

Lawson was one of the first people he met after arriving in Las Vegas, Gaughan recalls. “He played with just about everybody.”

As the musicians rehearse Lawson’s “Nutcracker” arrangements, they note some of the rhythmic idiosyncrasies and musical challenges involved.

After Stambaugh finishes an extended sax solo, Philippus says, “Geez, Dave, that’s a long haul. How long is this concert?”

But he’s only kidding, reassuring his colleague with another comment: “It’s really great.”

Lawson began the “Nutcracker” project about six to eight years ago, Philippus notes, “maybe longer. But I don’t know if it’s ever been performed.”

It hasn’t, according to Gaffey. “As far as I know, it’s the debut of these charts,” he says. “He labored over this music and wanted it played.”

Which is exactly what will happen Saturday afternoon.

Drummer Mike Mechem plays seven nights at the Tuscany — but he’s happy to add this particular gig to his schedule.

“The big reason we’re here is for Alan,” Mechem says.

And even if Alan Lawson can’t be there in person, his music will speak for him.

“It’s a strange situation, but it’s a good situation,” Gaffey says. “All of the musicians have come together for the best possible reasons.”

Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.