The Planet D Nonet is a Detroit based big little band that plays a range of music form jump blues to repertoire jazz performances. The music of Sun Ra has been one of the sources that they mined in the past, and they were joined at the end of the last year by trumpeter Michael Ray, an alumni of Sun Ra's Arkestra, who has continued to play Sun Ra's music in his own groups. The result is a new album Rays of the Sun on Eastlawn Records that provides new interpretations of Sun Ra's repertoire.
The origin of this recording happened when drummer RJ Spangler, one of the leaders of Planet D heard from Michael that he would be in Detroit. It was recorded at bassist Joel Peterson’s place, Trinosophies, and recorded (in Spangler’s words) “in the style of a Grateful Dead taper,” given a small budget. Co-leader trumpeter James O’Donnell and trombonist John Paxton have also known Ray for a number of years. Ray apparently fit in well with the Nonet and the band either played Joshua James arrangements or Rob E. Cohen’s transcriptions.
Joshua James is one of the stand-out players here on baritone and soprano saxophonists as well as clarinet and bass clarinet. Mention also must be made of the keyboards of Mike Malis and Daniel Bennett’s clarinet. Ray is of course playing familiar music (some of which he also plays in his own Kosmic Krewe) and contributes some lead vocals as the rhythm section percolates in support of the marvelous interplay amongst the horns and some nice soloing. While there are some chanting, it is briefer than one might experience during Sun Ra’s live performances which were very theatrical in addition to musical.
The music here is more of Sun Ra’s cosmic 1960s and 1970s mode with a bit less focus on some of the more Tadd Dameron-ish bop stylings of Sun Ra’s fifties band or Sun Ra’s revisiting of classic Fletcher Henderson arrangements that the prior East Lawn recording of Sun Ra’s music We Travel The Spaceways. The band sounds pretty solid and plays they interstellar numbers with a real feel for Sun Ra’s own performances (that have been well documented) although the sound lacks some bite (likely a result of how it was recorded) which is the only quibble with this production. It should be noted that poet John Sinclair recites one of Sun Ra’s poems for a bonus performance of There is Change in the Air. This can be obtained from http://cdbaby.com and more information can be found on http://www.eastlawnrecords.com.
I received my review copy from Eastlawn Records. Here is the Planet D Nonet playing some Sun Ra.
The musical legacy of Sun Ra continues to inspire many years after he made the transition from this planet. His pioneering blend of music, poetry, dance and theatre as well as the science fiction trappings of the performances may have led many to miss just how inspired a composer and arranger he was. Sun Ra visited Detroit in the mid-1970s and thereafter, and developed a substantial following there, like elsewhere. Included were musicians who have been and are performing Sun Ra’s music. The Planet D Nonet is a group of musicians from the Motor City who perform a range of music and have issued a double CD, We Travel The Spaceways: The Music Of Sun Ra (East Lawn Records).
For those familiar with Sun Ra’s recordings from the 1950’s such as has been reissued on Delmark or Evidence, the tenor of many of these performances (mostly recorded live) will not be surprising in the least. For those who attended performances by Sun Ra and His Arkestra, then one may be surprised by the performances absent the chants, heavy percussion and sun Ra’s electronic keyboards. Folks unfamiliar with Sun Ra from performance or recording might be unable to recognize the music here as coming from Sun Ra. This is music that has a touch of Tadd Dameron, intriguing harmonies, adroit tempo shifts and still sounds fresh.
The Planet D Nonet does a marvelous job in bring these compositions to life. While the personnel may shift, these are strong musicians anchored by R.J. Spangler on drums, pianist David Gadd and bassist Noah Jackson. Joshua James on baritone sax provides a presence while guest Salim Washington provides oboe and some holy ghost tenor sax on a few tracks, Jim Holder on tenor sax, James O’Donnell and Ken Ferry on trumpet to spotlight a few of the many folk who contribute in one way or another.
The notes from drummer Spangler and Rick Steiger provide a good overview of the compositions and the performances. The opening Velvet, described as a “‘Tadd Dameronesque’ swinger” opens with some robust baritone from Joshua James followed by Ken Ferry’s solid bop-laced trumpet. Trumpeter Herbert Dotson was an important member of Sun Ra’s groups in the 1950s and composed one of the leader’s signature numbers, Enlightenment, which in James’ transcription and arrangement, leads to some memorable ensemble playing with a short piano solo. Interstellar Low Ways is a moody-blues-tinged number a bit of exotic flavor captured in James’ arrangement with James Holden’s tenor sax featured followed by Salim Washington’s strong contribution on oboe. A studio performance has effective use of muted brass and different soloists including trombonist Tony Buccilli. The Kingdom Of Not, is a 1956 Sun Ra minor key blues with an outstanding solo from Justin Jozwiak on tenor (with some accenting by nice brass riffs) followed gutbucket some baritone sax from James that focused on the instruments lower range on the first of two performances of this.
Others tunes are heard in two or more renditions, including Ancient Aethopia. The first of the performances opens with a brief free ensemble chorus before Noah Jackson’s bass leads the statement of the main theme. Salim Washington takes the first of the featured solos, employing the tenor saxophone’s entire range, with honks, squeals and holy roller cries. After Joshua James explores the higher reaches of the baritone and its deep bottom, James O’Donnell takes off with a ’space trumpet’ solo. A second version of the tunes has guest saxophonist Kenny Millions conjuring up spirits with some fiery tenor sax with the rest of the band engaging in wild collective space-improvisation. The`final rendition is perhaps the most stately one although it has some fiery jazz tenor from James.
In addition to the fascinating explorations of Sun Ra’s book, there is a medley of the big band staples, King Porter Stomp and Big John Special, which were songs associated with Fletcher Henderson. The performances here evoke the charged, if slightly ragged, performances of the Arkestra this writer remembers watching 30 years ago. There is terrific high note trumpet from Patrick Hessian and stunning, spontaneous clarinet by Kenny Millions that connects the two numbers. It displays the same spirited ensemble playing and solos that characterize this salute to Sun Ra and his legacy. For more information on this, contact East Lawn Records at www.eastlawnrecords.com and they are on myspace at www.myspace.com/planetdnonet, Its available on CD and download from cdbaby.com and as a download from itunes.
I received a review copy from East Lawn Records. Here they are playing King Porter Stomp.
“You Know I Can’t Reuse: The Bill Heid Sessions,” (Eastlawn) is one of those discs that straddle the blues and jazz categories, so unfortunately sometimes get lost in the mix of new recordings. Drummer RJ Spangler is one of those musicians who has championed the swinging blues and rhythm pioneers of his native Detroit as well as providing solid, idiomatic support that helped revive the careers of such folks as Johnnie Bassett, Detroit’s Blues Queen Alberta Adams and the late Motor City legends as Joe Weaver, Stanley Mitchell and Kenny Martin. RJ tours with his Rhythm Rockers and plays in different combos such as RJ Spangler’s Blues Four which reunites him here with Bill Heid, one of the unsung blues and jazz keyboard players of the past thirty-five odd years. The Pittsburgh native has lived in Chicago for several years where he was on Alligator recordings by Koko Taylor, Fenton Robinson and Roy Buchanan. He later recorded for a variety of labels including several excellent organ recordings for Savant as a leader, in addition to recordings by Johnny Bassett and others for Cannonball. He lived in Detroit for about two decades developing a bunch of followers including RJ and played a major role in helping getting Johnny Bassett some international exposure. More recently, he has been part of the Baltimore and Washington jazz and blues scene. This new disc that RJ Spangler produced has Pat Prouty on string bass and Keith Kaminski on saxophone with Johnnie Bassett adding his guitar to several selections.
As the disc's subtitle suggests, Heid is the focus here. Heid plays piano and handles the vocals on a set of jazz-inflected blues or blues-inflected jazz. A good part of the 11 songs here derive from the repertoire of such jump blues legends as Floyd Dixon and Jimmy Witherspoon although it opens with a rollicking rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Ninety Nine,” with Heid’s Amos Milburn-Floyd Dixon inspired boogie piano complementing his unforced off-the-cuff vocals embellished by Bassett’s nice solo. Dixon’s “Red Cherries,” is a sophisticated uptown number with the, “Cherry a day will keep the doctor away,” has him singing about the fun in getting cherry juice on his tongue. Next is another Dixon classic, though more in the Charles Brown-Little Willie Littlefield vein, “Baby Lets Go Down to the Woods,” as Bassett’s guitar conjures up Oscar Moore. The tempo picks up for Leiber-Stoller’s “Too Much Jelly Roll, a popular part of Jimmy Witherspoon’s fifties repertoire. While he can’t shout the blues like Witherspoon, Heid’s delivery appeals in its own fashion on Spoon’s “Failing By Degrees,” with the down-in-the-alley piano ably supported by Prouty’s bass and Spangler’s brush work. Heid's “Boogie For Mr. B.” is a fine original boogie woogie. Heid’s piano also adds a fresh feel to the Joe Turner and Pete Johnson classic “Piney Brown Blues,” with Kaminski telling his bluesy story on tenor sax, while Jimmy Witherspoon’s “Times Getting Tougher Than Tough,” gets rollicking piano along with Kaminski’s tenor sax punctuation. The title track, originally by Detroit’s Five Dollars backed by Joe Weaver & the Blue Notes, has a tasty rumba groove while Johnny Bassett, who played on the original, adds his guitar here.
RJ, in the album notes, mentions outside of Bill’s original boogie, these are songs that Bill would play with RJ and the cats iover the years but had never recorded. I add that none of these numbers have been done to death. In any event, Heid adds his own inflections to his performances making for a set that should appeal to fans of jazz and blues, and artists like Jay MacShann, Charles Brown, Floyd Dixon, Amos Milburn and Mose Allison who defy category borders. Kudos to Spangler for putting together such an strong session. It is available at cdbaby.com and bluebeatmusic.com, to name two of the sources listed on http://eastlawnrecords.com.
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