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 Tabaczy...