Planet D Nonet Presents: Kings of Kansas City Swing Bennie Moten and Count Basie

The Planet D Nonet is a swing band from Detroit founded by drummer RJ Spangler and trumpeter James O’Donnell. They maintain a pretty heavy gig schedule around the Michigan hotspots and have released a dozen albums and a 45 in the last decade. Their albums are comprehensive explorations featuring original transcriptions, new arrangements, and a themed focus. Some seek out bluesier numbers, two have focused on the music of Sun Ra. Every spring they produce a concert honoring a jazz legend. Past concerts have shined the spotlight on Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, Fletcher Henderson, and Billy Strayhorn. The 2017 concert started with a focus on Kansas City Jazz more broadly but honed in on the 20s Bennie Moten band with Count Basie as a member. Before that change of focus, several songs from the repertoire of Julia Lee were assigned to singer Camille Price and those were left in the final concert. They provide an enjoyable change of pace from an otherwise largely instrumental set, with male vocals appearing on a few numbers. Before I go any further I need to talk about what really makes this album stand out. The album is delivered in a beautifully designed CD case, and instead of liner notes a 34 page 6" by 6" booklet weaving through the history of Kansas City Swing and the Moten Band. No downloads here. A huge amount of preparation went into the booklet and into the concer