As a follow-up to their Tribute To Buddy Johnson CD, the Planet D Nonet, a band based in Detroit pays homage to Duke Ellington on Blues To Be There. While most sets of Ellington’s music tend to revive his hits, this is a very different project.
Imagine if Duke Ellington in 1960 decided to put together a second group, a 10-piece unit, to perform and record some of his repertoire from the late 1950s. The compositions and arrangements are all by Ellington and/or Billy Strayhorn but the soloists, while inspired by the styles and tones of such sidemen as cornetist Ray Nance, tenor-saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, and baritonist Harry Carney, are obviously different players.
