Album Review: Blues To Be There, A Salute To Duke Ellington from Planet D Nonet

Album:  Blues To Be There, A Salute To Duke Ellington
Artist:  Planet D Nonet
Label:  Eastlawn Records
Website:  rjspangler.com/pd9.php

Paying homage to the works of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, the Planet D Nonet focuses on the works of these artists in their later years of the 1950's on the Nonet's recording Blues To Be There, A Salute To Duke Ellington.  Led by percussionist RJ Spangler and trumpet player James O'Donnell, the Nonet hones their fluency in swing, hard bop, and blues, with each musician "finding themselves" in Ellington's scores, as Spangler paraphrases in a press release.

The Nonet's alterations on the original arrangements show a perceptive slant in their interpretations, spotlighting the elegant nuances of each track.  The squiggly furls of James O'Donnell's trumpet are verbose and voluminous, ruminating smoothly along "Blues To Be There" while tindered by the jaunty toots of clarinet player Christopher Tabaczynski and the frolicking banter of pianist Michael Zaporski.  Transitioning between being upbeat and playful to sauve and sleek, the track interweaves facets of swing, hard bop and blues into a sprightly montage.

Ellington's melody "Moon Maiden" is infused with a Latin-imbued sway in the rhythmic beats as Charlie Miller's trumpet wades blazing ringlets.  Tbone Paxton's alluring vocals endow the melody with a romantic tilt that evokes an amiable and relaxing mood reminiscent of vintage Robert Goulet.  Paxton returns on trombone along the cool swinging cadence of "The Swingers Get The Blues Too," lacing the track in soft frothy swells with a tooling of flouncy tweets from Tabaczynski's tenor sax and O'Donnell's trumpet.  

The tribal beats of "Tigress," written by Strayhorn, resonate a primitive vibe, accentuated by the gentle quivers of Tabaczynski's tenor sax and Alex Colista's soprano sax, fanning a debonair flare.  The ballroom swing sheen of Alex Harding's baritone sax cruising along "Way Early Subtone" has an elevating effect on the arrangement, carriaged by a fingersnapping metronome.  Strayhorn's fan favorite "Take The A Train" has been reimagined many times over the years but the Nonet's rendition is a bouncy, boogie woogie-charged melody that recalls of Louis Armstrong's caterwauling penmanship and the vaudeville-style and seamless harmonizing of coronet player Bix Beiderbecke.

The Nonet hones and massages vintage tunes with a modern age glint on their salute to Duke Ellington.  The band coalesces their swing era perspectives with hard bop tenets and bluesy orientation for a recording that celebrates the relevance of big band spectaculars.

Musicians:
Alex Colista - alto & soprano saxophones
Christopher Tabaczynski - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Goode Wyche III - baritone saxophone, clarinet
James O’Donnell - 1st trumpet, co-leader, maracas, shakers, lead & background vocals
Charlie Miller - 2nd trumpet & flügelhorn
Tbone Paxton - trombone, claves, lead & background vocals
Michael Zaporski - piano & background vocals
Trevor Lamb - string bass
Sean Perlmutter - drums & cowbell
RJ Spangler - congas, bandleader & background vocals

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
Alex Harding - baritone saxophone
Ryan Bills - tenor saxophone
Kasan Belgrave - clarinet