For those unaware, PD9 is a pared down version of the traditional big bands of the 1930s, and they frequently feature guest vocalists, adding to the versatility of the band’s show.

The number of musicians in the lineup is reminiscent of the earliest big bands, when swing was still evolving into the sound that defined jazz music’s most popular era.

“The band retains the agility of a small group,” says co-founder and bandleader RJ Spangler, “but with the harmonic palette of a larger one.”

The band’s repertoire is unmatched, in one set paying tribute to the music of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson, and in another the proto-R&B sounds of Detroit artists such as Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams and King Porter.

On some nights an audience might be treated to an entire evening devoted to the Afro-futuristic rhythms of Sun Ra—to whom the name Planet D Nonet is a deferential nod, if not a wink.

One Sunday afternoon, December 17th, 2023, Dr./Prof. Leonard King drove to Cadieux Cafe on Detroit’s East Side to hear the PD9 perform. It wasn’t long before he began innately hearing the melody to one of Joe Williams’s recordings. At that moment, he decided to ask RJ Spangler if the PD9 would want to collaborate with him on a Joe Williams project.

Of course, RJ and the guys were receptive and so we are lucky enough now to be gifted their brand new album, Presents Doctor Professor Leonard King in a Tribute to Joe Williams (out now via Eastlawn Records).

1. Who She Do (6:34)
2. The Comeback (7:02)
3. Detour Ahead (5:20)
4. Sad Song (10:24)
5. Night Time Is the Right Time (7:31)
6. Young Man On The Way Up (5:27)
7. It’s The Same Old Story (7:02)
8. Don’t Push, Don’t Pull (4:28)
9. Some of This ’N’ Some Of That (4:54)

The nine-piece ensemble get to work quickly by opening the new recording on the joyfully sumptuous, catchy jazzy blues of Who She Do and the low slung The Comeback and then we are gifted the lushly sculpted beauty Detour Ahead and the foot/finger snapping delight of the ten minute gem Sad Song.

Along next is the sassy late night number Night Time Is the Right Time which is itself backed by the fluently musically seamless Young Man On The Way Up, the soulful jazz-R&B styling of It’s The Same Old Story, the music culminating with the gentle roustabout of Don’t Push, Don’t Pull, closing on the melodiously free-flowing Some of This ’N’ Some Of That.

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