Joe Gransden's Big Band Jazz Camp June 18th thru June 23rd

For those of us who love this music we call jazz, there is no better way to preserve the tradition- to preserve the only truly indigenous American art form- than to honor the musicians who play it by supporting them through our attendance at live music concerts and shows where they perform. Another worthy way to ensure continuity is to support music education in our schools. Education in all the arts, especially music, is being decimated by chronic underfunding and a general attitude that has come to value monetary gain over artistic excellence. The traditional avenues for developing fine young musicians in our primary and secondary schools has been seriously compromised by this paucity of funding and cannot, by itself, be relied upon to provide all that is necessary to set a firm foundation for a future in music. It is thus a grand opportunity for all of us to embrace individual efforts to recognize and elevate the music by offering our youth with a life changing experience that celebrates this great American art form. Joe Gransden’ Big Band Jazz Camp is just the type of worthy endeavor that deserves our attention and support

Joe Gransden, an Atlanta musician/bandleader and vocalist, has been working as a professional musician since his first professional gig with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra when he was barely twenty. Since 2001, when he arrived in Atlanta permanently, his ubiquitous presence and congenial personality has made him a central figure in the jazz community around not only Atlanta but the Southeast United States. On any given night Joe and his golden Monette trumpet can be seen fronting a jazz duo, a trio, a quartet or his seventeen piece Joe Gransden Big Band at any one of several local area establishments. 

This year Joe came up with an idea to offer youthful musicians between the ages of thirteen and nineteen a rare opportunity to attend an intensive jazz camp at a very nominal cost.  The camp will be held between Sunday June 18^th thru Friday June 23rd at Cambridge High School in Milton, GA. The camp will allow students, who must be accepted via an audition process, a chance to work in multiple formats (duo, trio, quartet and big band) under the supervision of some of the area’s most successful professionals and world class educators. The intensive five-day program give attendees a chance to receive rare mentorship with professionals, many who play the very same instruments theses students are trying to master. The opportunity to work and develop alongside fellow students who have the same passion and desire in a nurturing environment will also add to this life altering experience.

Joe tells me spaces in the program are filling up fast so anyone who has a child that is gifted or shows a proclivity for this music should not delay in signing up for this once in a lifetime experience. The cost for the full five-day program is a modest $400.00. There are also half-day programs available. The program is also accepting sponsorships and donations from private individuals. These funds will allow the program to accept worthy individual students who might otherwise not be able to attend due to lack of funds.If you love this music and you want to see it continue please consider making a donation or sponsoring one child in this worthy cause. You can find information as to how you contribute by clicking here and following the prompts on Joe’s site. 

Some of the amazing musicians who will be teaching and mentoring at the camp besdies Joe include acclaimed trombonists Lee Watts and Wes Funderburk; incendiary trumpeter Melvin Jones; guitarist Trey Wright; Grammy Award winning saxophonist Kebbi Williams and saxophonist Luke Weathington; Multi-reed specialist Hal Melvin; bassist Neal Starkey and Tim Aucoin; Grammy nominated drummer Sammy K and pianist/educator extraordinaire Kevin Bales. 

You can learn more about the camp and register by visiting  https://joesjazzcamp.com/

Randy Brecker graces the stage of Cafe 290 with the Joe Gransden Big Band

This Monday night at the Café 290 in Sandy Springs, the Joe Gransden Big Band featured a very special guest artist. The six time Grammy award winning Randy Brecker came to play his distinctive trumpet with Joe’s Big Band on this very special evening of song. Randy's sound can be heard on a generation of iconic recordings from Bruce Springsteen, Horace Silver, Parliament Funkadelic, Mark Murphy, the Brecker Brothers and his own recordings as a leader,

Randy Brecker with The Joe Gransden Big Band at Cafe 290

Joe Gransden frontinghis Big BAnd at Cafe 290

The Joe Gransden Big Band is one of the best big band jazz ensembles in the Southeastern United States if not the entire country. This well-oiled machine has been making Johnny Scatena’s Café 290 their home on the third Monday of every month. While the cast of musicians at times rotate out of scheduling necessity, the core group and its leader has remained intact and showered the Atlanta and surrounding area with the glorious sounds of a jazz big band for nearly a decade. Joe Gransden is an indefatigable presence on the local jazz scene and his dedication and sheer will power has been the glue that has kept this group together. Many of the area’s top musicians and musical educators have played their part to make his big band a viable entity. Joe is the perfect front man. His ability to woo a crowd with his Sinatra-esque voice, his charming stage presence and his facile trumpet work has made him a local favorite and an astute spokesman for the music. Some say the hardest working musician in the Atlanta area.

The house was packed and there was a palpable excitement brewing in the air. The audience was surprisingly diverse with many younger listeners in attendance to hear one the most familiar sounds on the trumpet in the last forty years. The sound of Randy Brecker. The musicians were equally pumped at the possibility of sharing the stage with one of their musical heroes and Brecker did not disappoint.

The band started out with their own, Wes Funderburk arrangements, blowing through a stirring version of “Miss Fine” with a soaring trumpet solo by Gordon Vernick. They moved onto a heart thumping rendition of “Cherokee” with precision and polish that had the audience bopping. Superb solos by Sam Skelton on alto, Joe Gransden on trumpet and Mike Walton on tenor just added savory spice to this already simmering stew. Joe crooned on “Pick Yourself Up” from the Sinatra songbook, with a silky alto saxophone solo by the young rising star Akeem Marable and Joe added his own mellow flugelhorn solo.

“My Blue Heaven” was another classic, this one featuring Joe’s hip vocal and a burly tenor solo by John Sandfort. The band brought it down a notch with a Chet Baker ballad “She Was Too Good To Me,” which Joe sang with a tender honesty that shared Baker’s poignant approach. Joe made good on a promise to sing another Sinatra favorite “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” for a female patron in the crowd. The band purred through the powerful arrangement with trombonist and arranger Wes Funderburk offering a raucous solo midway through.

Now that the band and the crowd was sufficiently warmed up, Joe introduced Mr. Brecker. The trumpeter had just arrived shortly before, after his plane was delayed for three hours due to the turbulent weather. Brecker is in town for a week of jazz educational sessions at the invitation of Dr. Gordon Vernick at Georgia State’s Jazz Department. He graciously accepted to fly down, meet and talk with the students in the jazz program; his visit culminating in a performance at the Rialto Theater playing in front of the Georgia State University Jazz Band under the direction of Dr. Vernick this Thursday evening. You can get tickets to what surely will be a memorable event by linking here.

I am a huge fan of Randy Brecker  and his music and had the opportunity to interview him last August for my blog, which can be accessed by linking here. He is an affable soul, a generous spirit and a tremendous talent whose prolific studio work has penetrated the airwaves to the enjoyment of almost everyone.

The band started an obscure arrangement that Randy brought along of the classic “Green Dolphin Street.” The band had to sight read, which they did brilliantly, to great effect. Brecker’s horn was strong, sharp and distinctive as he maneuvered through the changes with an ease and sensitivity that had both the band and the audience marveling. He had marvelous control and could navigate the slurs and high notes without any degradation in his sound. John Sandfort had a steaming tenor solo that had Mr. Brecker nodding his approval appreciatively.

On Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes” Brecker’s trumpet work was wonderfully soulful. The band devoured the Shorter piece like a hungry lion at feeding time. This band elevated their game for Mr. Brecker and it became clear that the admiration was reciprocated. The finale of Mr. Brecker’s first set performance was a blues that featured dueling trumpets of Mr. Brecker, Mr. Vernick and Mr. Gransden. It was like a scene from High Noon, each player respectively showing off their respective prowess. The contrast in style and tone was interesting to observe with each artist having their own distinctive strengths.  

Randy Brecker, Gordon Vernick and Joe Gransden

As Brecker left the stage to an ovation the band continued with Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” and ended the set with a blazing version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Things to Come.”

The second set featured Joe singing a lusty “Teach Me Tonight” and a beautiful version of “Body & Soul: featuring the sensitive side of Mr. Brecker. The band tackled Monk’s quirky “Well You Needn’t” with a solo by the energized Brecker and a bellowing baritone blow by multi- reed man Don Erdman.  The set ended with a new composition and arrangement by saxophonist Mike Walton “Merging Lanes,” which was inventive, but still unfamiliar in all its intricacies to the band, who was reading it for the first time.  The audience was appreciative of the effort and the evening was a resounding success.

Mr. Brecker is a world-class artist and should be commended for going out of his way to join this spirited band and bring some of his artistry to Atlanta. There is no doubt he thoroughly enjoyed himself and for anyone who was there it was a night to remember.

Check out Randy Brecker at the Rialto this Thursday evening, April 5, 2017  as he plays with  the Georgia State University Jazz Band under the direction o Dr. Gordon Vernick you can get tickets here. Also check out the Joe Gransden Big Band coming to the City Winery in Atlanta with his “Songs of Sinatra” show on Thursday May 18 th you can get tickets here.

The Joe Gransden Big Band on this evening featured Joe Gransden trumpet/voice/leader; Dr. Geof Haden on keys; Neal Starkey on bass, Justin Varnes on drums; Dr. Gordon Vernick, Kevin Lyons, Chip Crotts, Clark trumpets; Mike Walton, ts; Don Erman bari/clarinet; Akeem Marabel, as; Sam Skelton,as; John Sandfort, ts; Wes Fundeburk arranger/trombone; Tom Gibson, trombone; Devin Witt, Trombone. Derrick Jackson trombone. 

The Last Concert: Atlanta's Jazz Club "Churchill Grounds" Closes its Doors April 1997- July 2016

The window sign at Churchill Grounds

This past Sunday evening, July 31, 2016, the nearly twenty-year run of Atlanta’s longest continuously operating jazz club, Churchill Grounds, came to a glorious but ultimately sobering end. Since April of 1997, when the club first opened its doors, Churchill Grounds has been a labor of love. The name is curiously the combination of two things that Owner Sam Yi loves, Churchill size cigars and coffee grounds. This Atlanta institution was situated adjacent to the Fox Theater at 660 Peachtree NE in downtown Atlanta. Mr. Yi’s admittedly naïve motivation for such an endeavor? Maybe it would be fun to have a place where local musicians could play and you could make a little money providing a platform for the music that you love. Simple and admirable enough, but hardly the kind of business plan that would inspire a flock of financial supporters to your cause. That didn’t seem to bother Yi, a mild mannered business man, who was surprisingly passionate about the music and who decided to live his life immersed in it. On Sunday night, in an emotional farewell, he recounted how this endeavor required that he spend much of his life over the last twenty years at the club, putting in countless hours there, often at the expense of his family. Poignantly looking back over the years it was obvious that given the chance, Yi wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Owner Sam Yi; Billy Thornton on bass and Morgan Guerin on drums

It was his employees who worked there, the musicians who played there and the patrons who respectfully listened there that collectively became his extended family. He thanked them all with an emotion laden goodbye.That family even included two homeless men that became permanent fixtures outside the club’s front door. One of them, “homeless Joe,” offered his own tearful adage from the stage, saying how much he was going to miss seeing Sam and the steady ebb and flow of the club’s patrons. I suspect what Joe will miss most was his visibility. Sam and many patrons didn’t look past Joe, but acknowledged his humanity. They didn’t judge him, but looked at him as a soul who was just down on his luck. They didn’t castigate him as a nuisance, but greeted him with dignity, including him as part of the extended Churchill Grounds family. It was Sam Yi who provided this space where people who recognized the power and inclusiveness of the music were able to congregate and commune with one another.

And of course there was the music; it swung, it bopped hard or it grooved straight ahead, it fused wildly or it whispered softly and it often funked you to the bottom of your soul. The music wasn’t merely entertainment, it was history, it was creativity, it was a social compact and inclusiveness. Churchill Grounds became the go-to place in Atlanta. The place where musicians of all levels, professional and acolyte, could come and practice their skills, hone their craft, commune with each other and connect with their audience. It was the hometown stage for legends like the late Cedar Walton and the venerable Freddie Cole. It was the sometime residency for current standouts like Russell Gunn and Joe Gransden. It was a stop off joint for visiting celebrities like Wynton Marsalis or Harry Connick Jr. It was the proving grounds for a new breed of firebrand like Morgan Guerin, Kenny Banks Jr., the Harper Brothers and Darren English. 

A view from the drums at Churchill Grounds
photo by organ Guerin

The life of a musician is hard enough in today’s society where the arts in general are valued so poorly. Professional musicians often have to supplement their income by teaching, travelling extensively or taking other work. Churchill Grounds provided that home based waystation for many of Atlanta’s finest jazz musicians. Jazz musicians in particular have chosen a road that becomes ever more challenging in this modern world. Despite jazz being the only recognized original all American art form, the audience for this music has shrunken and grayed dramatically. According to a survey by Nielsens, jazz and classical music sales combined represented just 1.4% of the total music consumed in the United States in 2014. As for digital sales, the likely future of all music distribution- jazz streaming- represented a paltry .3% of the total volume of streamed music. These are sobering statistics for anyone who loves this music, for professional musicians and certainly for the hundreds of music students who are currently enrolled in jazz music educational programs. Needless to say, with such a small audience, the economic viability of presenting this music in a place like Churchill Grounds poses its own challenges.

But what statistics don’t reveal is the fierce loyalty, love and dedication that this music brings to those who embrace it. The spirit, reverence and sense of comradery that is often found within the jazz community as a whole is largely under appreciated by the general public. Jazz is international in its scope. The music remains an international language that bridges the widening gap between peoples of vastly different cultures. Jazz becomes the crucible by which these cultural differences can be annealed into a commonly shared means of communicating with each other in a positive and humanistic way.

The music is often spoken of as music for musicians. That assessment may be partially correct, as it takes a great deal of skill and dedication to play complex improvised music, but it also takes soul, heart and empathy to play it in such a way as it will move the listener.

In this technological age of diminishing attentions, we are less and less likely to immerse ourselves in the musical experience, perhaps because we no longer feel we have the time for such an indulgence. Jazz requires thoughtful listening. The experience is not always best conveyed through listening to recordings- although admittedly the great ones transcend the medium-but when we really listen and participate in the music in a “live” setting the magic of music can spread all over us like a blanket of warm sunshine. An engaged audience becomes an active participant in the creative process. Are we really ready to forego that precious experience? 

Having a venue that can offer musicians and music lovers a chance to experience what it is like to participate in a live jazz performance is crucial to very existence of the art form. That’s why the closing of Churchill Grounds is so distressing.

                                                                 Sam Yi and Russell Gunn

If anyone needed proof positive of the outpouring of love and affection that this music can generate, they should have been at the final few performances at Churchill Grounds. Local musicians and stalwart patrons came in force and solidarity to pay homage to the closing of an Atlanta institution. The City of Atlanta issued a proclamation naming the day Churchill Grounds Day and so did Fulton County, perhaps too little too late.

Kevin Bales, Billy Thornton, Russell Gunn and Morgan Guerin

Local trumpet legend Russell Gunn was the informal musical director of the proceedings when I attended on Sunday night. He was joined by the pianist Kevin Bales, the bassist Billy Thornton and the drummer Morgan Guerin. They played with a palpable intensity in a mostly hard bop style to an appreciate crowd of aficionados and well-wishers. Probably one of the most moving performances of the night was a rendition of the Bill Evan’s classic “Blue in Green.” Mr. Bales sensitive opening led to Mr. Gunn’s poignantly playing the melody on his muted trumpet that evoked memories of Miles Davis, an obvious influence. The young rhythm section was equally impressive.

The players frequently changed throughout the night as each one who came wanted to pay tribute in their own most personal way. At one point the stage was packed with four well known trumpet players-Russell Gunn, Georgia State educator Dr. Gordon Vernick, Joe Gransden and Darren English-in a trumpet show down that was par excellence. The trio section of Bales, Thornton, now with Marlon Patton on drums kept the frantic pace as the four guns had a high powered shoot out.

Here is a partial video of that show down posted on Darren English’s Facebook page: click here

Pianist Kenny Banks Jr. took over the piano chair and improvised on a beautiful rendition of “Con Alma.” His thoughtful ruminations on the melody were captivating. Here is a sample of that performance posted by saxophonist James Patterson. click here

Pianist Gary Motley took the piano chair and lent his elegant swing and facile chops to the proceedings. A seasoned professional as well as the Director of Jazz Studies at Emory University, Motley also accompanied several vocalists with a revolving rhythm section, this one including Craig Shaw on bass and Darren English on drums.

Some of the other artists that performed that night included tenor man Mike Walton, drummer Kenny Bostick, bassist Dishan Harper, trumpeter Terrence Harper, saxophonist James Robinson, flautist Rasheeda Ali and vocalists Laura Coyle and Julie Dexter. My apologies to those who I’ve missed.

Now that the lights are switched off and the doors are shuttered, the best way to describe the proceedings of this last evening at Churchill Grounds is to liken it to a joyous New Orleans style funeral march. A celebration of life not a demonstration of sorrow at the passing. Sam Yi was honored for his years of service, his defense of the cause and his unbridled passion for this music.

Make no mistake, this is a gut check for all of us who live in Atlanta and its surrounds. As a City of six million people can we really afford to lose yet another institution that promotes the arts? Do we really believe that the quality of our lives all comes down to dollars and cents on a ledger sheet?

Mr. Yi has said that he is looking for another venue, a rebirth of Churchill Grounds, hopefully in the near future. We should all hope he succeeds so that Churchill Grounds doesn’t become another distant memory like “Jeff’s Jazz” or “Dante’s Down Under.” Instead of lamenting another lost treasure, let’s all try to make this happen through community activism. You can help by donating to a special go fund me site by clicking here. It seeks to raise seed money to help secure another venue for Mr. Yi and hopefully, with our help. Churchill Grounds closing will be but a temporary blip in its long and illustrious history.

Man with the golden horn: Part Two of an Interview with trumpeter/vocalist/ big band leader Joe Gransden

Joe Gransden

Atlanta's Joe Gransden is the archetype of the successful working musician. He is an accomplished trumpet player, a silvertoned vocalist and a consummate entertainer. He has worked hard to establish a stellar reputation as an in demand performer, often working seven nights a week at various local venues. This indefatigable musician can be seen working as both a sideman or most often as a leader in duos, trios, quartet, quintet and big band formats. His tireless drive and his good natured charm has been key to allowing him to operate almost exclusively from his home base in Decatur. Gransden has chosen a life that is not as subjected to the demanding rigors of touring that most travelling musicians must endure to provide economic stability for their families. Joe's desire to create a sustainable career in the Atlanta area has been to the benefit of his followers, those jazz fans who covet great, professionally played jazz without having to go to New York, New Orleans or Los Angeles, and he has consequently garnered a large and loyal following. In the first part of our interview we talked to Joe about growing up in the Buffalo area, his musical family,  his early musical influences and some of his experiences in college and on the road honing his trade as a professional musician, You can link to the first part of the interview by clicking here.

In this part two of our two part interview we learn about Joe's take on several iconic trumpet players, how he met the actor Clint Eastwood, his work with the smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G., the balance between work and family, his work as a big band leader, his acting ambition and his future projects.

NOJ: Joe we talked about two of your major trumpet influences Allen Vizzutti and Joe Magnarelli. Now let's get your take on some of the major trumpet figures of the genre. I'm sure the trumpet players out there would find your take informative. Let's start with Louis Armstrong.

 JG: He’s affecting me now. I wasn’t into him as a kid.Now I love his tone,his endurance and  his love his phrasing. I put it right up there with Frank Sinatra.

NOJ: His phrasing as a player or as a singer?:

  JG: Both.

                                     

Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong

NOJ: What about Miles?

  JG:  Always affected me. Miles laid back sound and his sound. I always tried to copy Miles 

  tone. He was breathy, dark, not necessarily flat but maybe just little on the lower side of the     pitch just to create a little tension.

NOJ: How about Lee Morgan?

  JG: Yeah he affected me a lot. I transcribed a lot of his solos when I was a kid.

NOJ: What is the difference between Lee and Miles approach in your mind?

  JG: Tone first of all. Lee was much brighter and much more soulful in a bluesy way. His articulation was much different from Miles. His eighth notes were very aggressive. He used a lot of hard tongue on some of those notes. Miles was a lot more laid back.

NOJ: What about Dizzy ( Gilespie) ?

  JG: I always appreciated his playing but never really took to him. Wasn’t someone who I wanted to sound like.

NOJ:  How about Freddie (Hubbard)?

  JG: Freddie all day long. Transcribed him, great soloist, can’t play any of them. He was amazing, especially in the sixties, that record that he did with Herbie, Empyrian Isles, all those great tunes. Those CTI records I listened to them a thousand times.

Empyrean Isles

NOJ: Who do you think sounds most like Freddie these days?

  JG:  Jim Rotundi. He sounds like himself, but he also has a lot of Freddie’s phrasing and that ability to change registers so fast and smooth. You can want to sound like Freddie or Dizzy but maybe just not have the chops to do it. Jim’s got those chops.

NOJ: Well Miles never had those chops, but he figured out a way to play that was different than Dizzy but all his own.

  JG: He had chops in other ways that these guys didn’t have so it didn’t matter.

NOJ: Talking about chops how about Maynard Ferguson?

  JG: I just love Maynard. I knew early on I was never going to be that guy, I didn’t want to be     that guy, but God it was so cool. I saw him a lot. I saw him perform live many times and just loved what he could do on that trumpet. Just the fact that found his niche and he is probably one of five guys in the history of the instrument that could constantly play in that register and sound that good. I love Maynard Ferguson.

NOJ: Do you think when you are playing like that and everybody expects that you are going to play that almost unreachable high note, it takes away from the music, the art by becoming just another technical achievement?

  JG: That’s what it is and with the trumpet it is a big deal. I would say ninety-nine percent of the trumpet players would like to be able to play a double high C. If you take that ability and use it right. Maynard’s ability was like a golfer hitting a 400 yard drive. It was amazing to watch but it wasn’t necessarily going to get you all the way to a subpar game. I could always dig him because he had a great band and he was a great improviser. He knew how to sing on the trumpet.

NOJ: What about Kenny Dorham, he was a native of Atlanta?

  JG:   KD became my favorite trumpet player during the time I was playing with Joe Magnarelli because Joe loved him and hipped me to him. One of the records he told me to go out and get when I was dealing with trying to develop my ear was Quiet Kenny and the another was Afro-Cuban. Kenny had a way of articulating that I wanted to be able to develop. He kind of hits the note, scoops down a little and then pitches it back up. When I was doing it back then I sounded like I was trying to be Kenny. When he did it, of course, you could tell it was just him. It was just the way he played a note. He is another one that had that real soulful sound. Only Kenny Dorham has that tone. Love him. 

NOJ: Let’s talk about Chet, you have been compared to him.

  JG: Chet Baker is probably my all-time hero. I think it goes back to my early days when I spoke about how I was so into melody. When I started diving into Chet Baker, I got a record called Diane it came out in 1985. I think it's out of print. It was just him and piano. I would listen to that record all day long. I would sit in bedroom, close my eyes and try to pick out the notes he was playing.

NOJ: Well he was easier to follow, right?

  JG: He was easier to follow. He makes sense and he was never trying to do anything but make music. He wasn’t trying to play high, he wasn’t trying to play fast, he wasn’t really trying to copy anybody except maybe early on. You know you could tell he loved Miles. Chet became my hero, throughout his entire career, seemed like he always stayed pretty true to the music. 

His tone was gorgeous and when he wanted to play fast he could. Man he had just as good a technique as anyone. So he is probably my number one influence?

                  

NOJ: What about Woody Shaw?

  JG: Woody I’m just getting into him now. I was scared of him for a long time. 

NOJ: What was so special and scary about Woody’s playing?

  JG: I think it is just that no body played trumpet like that. All those intervals, all those pentatonic scales. It wasn’t simple melody coming out of his trumpet. It was more.

NOJ: Do you think he was the John Coltrane of the trumpet?

  JG: Yeah. When I heard him play live in 1986, I couldn’t even comprehend what he was doing and it frightened me. Sounded interesting, wasn’t quite for me then, and it is just now forty-five years old and I think what an idiot I am for not adding him to my bag of tricks. Because we all take from these guys we hear and I kind of avoided him, I think I was just afraid of him. 

NOJ:  Blue Mitchell?

  JG: One of my favorites. Tops the King of bebop trumpet playing. Just deep in the pocket swinging. I transcribed one of his records called Blue’s Moods. Love Blue Mitchell.

NOJ: Everyone had to listen to Clifford, right?

  JG: One of the top five of all time. Tone was great. He had kind of an airy tone that could change between bright and dark. His articulation and his ability to navigate the changes was I think incomparable. His ability at such a young age was ridiculous, just like Booker Little.

                                               Clifford Brown

NOJ: Speaking of Booker Little, besides him who are your favorite unsung               trumpet heroes?

  JG: My two favorite are Conte Candoli and Jack Sheldon. Jack and Conte we the guys who, in their time, could have easily become rock stars in their own right but they just got busy in the recording scene and quietly went their own way. Jack did the great trumpet part on "The Shadow of your Smile.” from the movie The Sandpiper. There is no better version of  that song.

NOJ: Let's talk about a more contemporary player like Wynton Marsalis?

  JG: I think he is the top of the top. He is the Tiger Woods, The Muhammad Ali in that he can   play classical, he can play jazz music, he is very soulful. I know early on there were some cats who questioned as whether he had lived enough to considered that great. He is probably in his early fifties now and his chops are in better shape than anyone on the planet. He is a great composer. He is the modern day Louis Armstrong and I have met him many times

and he is about as nice as you can be. I absolutely love Wynton Marsalis.

NOJ:  Let's get back to you. What is your personal practice discipline?

  JG: For most of my life it was like a drug, it was unbelievably powerful. It was all day long. It started with a warm up on the trumpet, playing exercises out of the Arvin book. It was hours of playing along with records once I met Joe and found out that was the way to do it. It never stopped. I would hear something on the radio and immediately try to figure it out. Nowadays, with a child and a family, it’s enough for me to get some maintenance on the horn. I’m working every night playing so it’s on my face every night. As far as learning new things and trying to grow as an artist in the practice room, it’s probably twenty-five percent of what it used to be. I’m just too busy. I always tell students and elders told me when I was younger, get it done now. You got to get it done early and it’s easier to absorb when you are younger. I practice for maybe ten minutes in a dark room free improvising, just to clear my head. But in some respects my life has become so much more than just a professional trumpet player. I am more of an entertainer now. I’m leading this big band, I’m singing, sometimes more than I’m playing.So I have to balance it all and I like it all just as much. 

NOJ: I’ve seen you in a duet, a trio, a quartet and leading the big band. What is your favorite format?

  JG: Small jazz groups are my favorite. However, entertaining a large crowd with the big band, there is nothing like it. The power of the big band is incredible. If the crowd happens to laugh at one of your stupid jokes or if they happen to feel something when you sing, it is really exciting. They react even if you are not a good singer because they hear those lyrics and they relate. It is an interesting balance to try to navigate.

NOJ:  You have been working in the Atlanta area for how long?

  JG: I did college here in 1991-92, went to New York for a few years and came back to Atlanta around 1995-1999 and then back to New York until 2001 then came back and stayed since then.

NOJ: What is it that drives you to maintain such a hectic schedule?

  JG: The obvious answer is money (laughing) and all kidding aside money is a necessary factor, it’s nice to be able to provide for your family. You have got to make a living, but the truth is I wouldn’t keep such a hectic schedule if I didn’t love the music and performing.I am at a place in my career where I could slow down a little bit (Joe often works six or seven nights a week). It’s all the preparation for the gigs, the telephone work, the business of the music that is so draining. Playing is the culmination of all that behind the scenes work.  I have been doing it myself since 2001. I kind of like that Gransden Music LLC is a one owner corporation and I am handling everything from what we will wear for the gig, what time we are going to eat, what songs we are going to play and I have no body breathing down my neck. So I like to put in that extra time to have that control.

NOJ : Tell us about your family and how the put up with the life of a working musician?

  JG: My wife Charissa is a classical flute player and the band director at the Lovett School. it is a private elementary to secondary school here in Atlanta. She is an incredible educator and has been named teacher of the year on several occasions. She gets the life of a musician. She is a musician so there is no problem there. For my six-year-old son Joseph, it can sometimes be a little challenging that daddy is not there to put him to bed or wrestle with him. I look at it like this, if I was a full time musician on the road, I might be away for six or seven months at a time, but I have been able to sleep in my own bed nine maybe ten months out of the year. So if I don’t get to put him to bed one night, I’m having breakfast with him in the morning. Or I’ll pick him up from school and we will have a couple of hours together. So the hard work that I have put in is great, I can make a living here in Atlanta.

If something comes along that says go to this city to perform, if the situation was right it would be no problem. 

NOJ:   When did you realize you wanted to both sing and play?

 JG: When I was playing at Veni Vidi Vici here in Atlanta in 1998. We were making fifty dollars each. It was me and Neal Starkey on bass and Bill Anschell on piano. Bill now lives in Seattle. We did every Sunday and every Wednesday and we got three months into the gig when the manager said "Everybody loves your band, but you have got to have a singer here." I said “Alright give me another fifty bucks and I ‘ll get you a singer.” He said “I can’t give you any more money,” so I said “How am I supposed to hire a singer?” So he said “Well I guess I'll just have to get another band that has a singer. “ So I said “Well I sing”and he said “Great, next Sunday you start singing.” I ran home and talked to my dad and asked him to show me some songs, because he was a great singer and knew all the songs. The following week I sang in my shaky voice and as soon as I started to sing people would look up and pay attention. I could see that the lyrics made a difference. That’s where I met my friend Bob Weiner who would later produce several of my albums. He used to come in and see us play and loved our music. He was a fan and he really helped my career and he is a good friend today.

NOJ: Who are your singing models and why?

 JG:  Frank Sinatra first for his phrasing. I love Ray Charles soulful way of singing and every once in awhile I’ll try to do a little of that in my vibe and when it works it feels so good, sometimes it doesn’t work, but it is fun to try. I just noticed when I try too hard to do something it only comes across as trying and when I don’t try it comes across more authentic.

NOJ: What about a guy like Chet Baker? Was he a singing inspiration?

  JG:  I love his tone and I love his ability to sing quietly but effectively without ever raising his voice. He never tried to do anything but get the melody across.

NOJ:  How about a singer like Billy Eckstine? Was he much of an influence?

  JG:  My mother loves Billy Ekstine, I don’t have a lot of his records, but I really enjoyed Joe Williams, Mel Torme and Nat King Cole. These days Kurt Elling is just killing. Gregory Porter is another monster singer.

There is an old record called In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Sinatra and strings, and it was recorded not too long after he and Ava Gardner split up. He was really hurting on this record and it’s all ballads. For a good many years, when I was being hired more as a singer than a trumpet player for corporate parties and events, I noticed that my singing was taking me further and making me more money and drawing more and more attention.  So every day I would practice to that record one side every day. I would sing note for note with Frank and practice his phrasing, and try to hold the notes the way that he did. I couldn’t hold the notes the way he did and I can hold a note on the trumpet because I circular breathe, so I couldn’t understand it. I was breathing incorrectly for singing and I eventually learned how to do that by mimicking Frank and it allowed me to be more creative with my singing.

NOJ: You have maintained a working big band now for seven years. How hard is it too keep such a disparate group of top notch musicians together?

 JG: The big band? It is extremely difficult, its painstakingly difficult its losing sleep difficult. Because they are so good and they are so busy with their own careers. It has gotten to the point now where I can pay them enough for them to show up- I can’t pay them what they are worth- but in the beginning we would have to split the money that would be barely adequate for a quintet amongst seventeen guys. Now we are busy enough that everyone is making more and getting a taste, most of the time, not all the time. Sometimes we do something for less if we think it will lead to something else. Now we are constantly dealing with subbing out because these guys are playing gigs with other people, so that’s always an issue. It’s is also seven years later now from when we started this band and most of the guys have families, kids and responsibilities. It’s tough.

 NOJ: What intrigues me is how you guys keep the tightness of a great big band when you obviously don’t get a chance to practice together on a regular basis. It is not like the old days when the bands traveled together for months at a time and lived and eat and slept together as a unit. How does this work now?

JG: In the old days the bands were like a family. It was in many respects a very difficult life. I know what you are talking about though, even when I started this band seven year ago, how difficult it could be to try to keep a group together, get practice space, manage a sound system and run around and book gigs. So that is why I got the gig at John Scatena’s Café 290 on the first and third Monday every month. We get paid a little bit, we play in front of a live audience which is good for the nerves, and we can try out new stuff. Wes Funderbunk, who plays lead trombone, arranges most of our charts, although some of the other guys are now arranging also. If I was going to do this gig I wanted to do it on a Monday night, like they do in New York, which is usually when nobody has a gig.  So that is our chance, twice a month to rehearse. If we crash and burn once in a while the crowd is so great we all just laugh and have a wonderful time. We get a thirty minute warm up before the show and we can get a lot accomplished in thirty minutes so it works. John Scatena has been extremely helpful and he has stuck with us all this time.

  

NOJ: How do the economics of a big band work in today’s market which is generally unkind economically to musicians?

 JG: Not very well. It is very difficult. I know Harry Connick Jr's band is down to five horns and he can charge pretty much what he wants. It is very difficult to have sixteen to eighteen musicians plus stage assistance to put a big band on the road. It would be almost impossible without a big name like Michael Buble or Harry Connick Jr.  or whoever tit is that can demand enough money to pay the guys. On the other hand in a local setting like the Southeast it is doable. It is doable to go to South Florida for one night and get paid enough to make it worthwhile.  But economically, if I was smart, it would be  more economically viable with  a six-piece band, but I also do that also, so the big band is something special.  If people want the big band for an event there are few people doing that.

NOJ: Are you playing weddings with the big band?

JG: Sure, we play a lot of concerts now. It used to be ten percent concerts and the rest would be corporate parties and weddings now it is like fifty percent concerts. We play at performing art centers, at clubs like the Blue Note. So no one else is really doing what we do in the South east.

NOJ:  The trombonist Wes Funderburk has been the principal arranger for your big band music. How and where did you meet Wes and how did he start arranging for the large ensemble?

   JG: I met Wes years ago at Georgia State University. We played in the jazz band there and played in countless settings over the years. We have always been friends and he has always been a talented arranger, but he really started to pour it on more in the early two thousand’s . With this band, as much as I wanted to play the stock arrangements of the old days to kind of pay tribute to that sound, I also wanted the band to have it’s own sounds. Since I don’t arrange for big bands, I had the option of going to someone who was well known for arranging or getting a guy that is in the band, who knows the abilities of each musician, who knows my abilities as a singer and a musician and who can arrange. That is why I said Wes you got to be the guy. He loved it. Early on, the first three or four years, he was writing like crazy and I would go over his house twice a week saying “yeah I love that," or "take that out, I can’t sing that.” Now he knows me so well that and I know him so well , we have such a great working relationship that all I have to do is say is I need an arrangement on this tune, with this tempo, this beat and he doesn’t have to ask me anything its always just right.

                                              Wes Funderburk

NOJ: Did Wes have any mentors and if not who does he pattern himself after as an arranger?

   JD: I know he loves Nelson Riddle, Billy May, but I really never had a long conversation with him about that. As a trombone player he loves JJ Johnson, Bill Watrous.

                                      Nelson Riddle and Frank Sinatra

NOJ: Do you want to pursue composing more of your own music or is that something that doesn’t interest you?

    JG: It is on my plate. It does interest me, I just have to make the time for it.  I do want to record an album of all originals in the next couple of years. I have written a handful of songs. I don’t focus on that and sometimes I am bothered by that, but I have had many musicians say to me you can’t do everything.

NOJ: The sound of a truly well-oiled big band is like no other. You are taken yours to the Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC next week July 11, 2016 . I know it’s not your first time there, but it must be exciting to be given the opportunity to play this famous club once again. Tell us about the whole experience.

 JG: It is an amazing experience. This will be our fourth time so the unknown factor has sort of been removed. Every time we play the club for some reason we follow The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, they play Tuesday through Saturday and then we play Monday. So we have big shoes  when we go up there. Actually playing at the club is unbelievable. You get on that stage and you realize the history of that place, everybody has been on that stage. When you get here you think oh it’s a little club, but then you go in the dressing room and you think who else has been in this dressing room? You get on that stage and they announce your name and New York City so it’s always a great crowd. The house is usually big and they turn the lights on and it’s a feeling of magic and energy that is hard to explain. For us, we work so hard with this big band, it’s like a retreat, once a year..

NOJ:  I guess it’s almost like validation of some sort.

   JG: Yeah I think it is. We are playing the Blue Note, they are asking us to play this place. They know the financial risk.  They know it is hard for us. They have given me the option bringing in a smaller group, but they love the big band. We fly up, we go to dinner in Little Italy, it is just an awesome experience. 

NOJ:  It seems like you have generally avoided teaching as a supplement to your musical career? Do you  teach now?

   JG: I do teach. I teach privately at my studio at my house. I have between five to eight students a week. I only take very serious musicians, mostly take jazz trumpet players and I enjoy it.  I always said that I wasn’t going to let teaching get in the way of my performing. My wife who is a great flute player is one hundred percent dedicated to the education of her students, that is what she wants to do. If she was offered to play principal flute in some symphony I am sure she would say no. She would much rather help kids further their education musically. It’s not that I don’t want to help kids further their education, but it is just that my brain is wired to want to be on stage. As far a later in life would I be interested in teaching, I think I would be for sure.

NOJ: As if your musical endeavors are not enough you are also pursuing a career in acting. How did that come about? 

   JG: It was actually at the Blue Note. When I first met Clint Eastwood everybody started razzing me saying you are going to start make movies. On many occasions, because he liked Chet Baker so much and knew him, I asked him if  he had ever considered making a movie about Chet’s life? He said he definitely would be interested, but that he had never seen a screen play that he liked. So  myself and two other people wrote a screen play about Chet’s life. It took us two years and right about when we were ready to present it. this movie with Ethan Hawke comes out so that was that.

Back to the Blue Note, it was about three years ago. A guy came up to me after the show, he was getting ready to start a movie and asked me had I ever done any acting. So I said yeah, I totally lied. So I went to Jersey somewhere and took a screen test for this movie. He didn’t give me the  part, but he did say I think you can do this. Go back to Atlanta for six months and take some acting lessons, study and come back. I did just that. I studied with Shannon Eubanks, great actor, great coach. So I went back six months later and re-did the screen test and he gave me the part. It was a great movie and I was going to play the part of the best friend of the lead actor, and I had tons of lines and a lot of scenes. I was going to be very much over my head. But the film ran into financial and ownership problems, and unfortunately, to this day, the movie was never made. It is still on hold.

NOJ: Tell us how you got introduced to Clint Eastwood and where that relationship has taken you?

                                        Joe Gransden and Clint Eastwood

 JG: Clint I met maybe thirteen years ago. I have a friend in town who has produced a few of my cds. He loved my music and would tell me that I needed to get my music in front of people in the entertainment business. He told me to write a letter to Clint Eastwood and that he would get it to him. I thought he was crazy, but I did what he asked and sent a copy of one of the cds my friend  helped produce.  About a month later I got a call from Clint’s wife who said they had received the letter and the cd and that they would love for me to come to Carmel and play a party that they had coming up.  I fly there and picked up some local musicians from the area to play at this member party for his golf club. I stayed an extra two days and played golf with Clint and hung out and we talked about Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker.  He knew them back in the day, and it was great. We really hit it off in the sense that we both were into this music. That turned into many subsequent appearances at various functions for him and people he knew. I got to play along with Glen Campbell and Huey Lewis and Kenny G. That’s how I meet Kenny G. When the gig was over Kenny liked my playing and asked me to come to his house in Malibu and write a smooth jazz record together. At the time, I was more of a purist. The next day I was playing golf with Clint and told him that Kenny G wanted  me to do a record with him and I asked him should I do  it? He told me “What are you nuts, of course.” So that’s how I got to work with Kenny G. We did this record called Close to My Heart. Since then I have been friends with Kenny. Clint has influenced my career so much.

NOJ:  How did you overcome the reticence that you must have had to play this formulaic smooth jazz that Kenny is so famous for?  

   JG:  There were a number of reasons. One was it gave me a chance to be on a major stage. Secondly I liked him. He was a wonderful person to be around. I was hanging out with him a  little while at his house in Malibu and the guy is an amazing musician. I’d play him little riffs that I picked from listening to Freddie or someone, and if he liked it he would listen to it and pick it right up. These were the same things that took me months to pick up. So I could see he 

was a talented musician. Whether you’re a fan of his or not, the guy can play a melody. He has found a niche for himself and over a hundred million people have bought his records, so a lot more like him then don’t. I love him. When I get to play with him and his band it’s so professionally done. I am fully aware that when I  play this music it’s not the same as when I play really swinging jazz, but that’s true of a lot of pop music.

                                             Kenny G and Joe Gransden

I’m working on a pop song that is coming out soon, with the smaller section of my big band. Kipper Jones wrote this song for me it’s a great tune it’s called “Go Getta.” I think it could be a hit for us, but when we were recording this song, it was different from my usual gig. It was like what you’re talking about, maybe a bit more formulaic, more about let’s put the chorus here, or how can we make this a hit, or this section is too long for people’s attention. It was very little about creating and improvising in the studio and I didn’t take this as being a 

negative thing. What we were doing was a different side of music. Kenny G is the top of this side and Wynton Marsalis is the top of the other side and you can’t really compare those two musicians because they are both great at what they do.

NOJ: What new projects do have coming up after the Blue Note gig?

JG: As I said, the biggest thing is getting this pop tune out ,“Go Getta,” and releasing it at the right time and possibly producing a small, short video for it. We just converted from paper charts to all electronic charts on individual foot operated I pads for the big band. That was a huge project that has taken six months to get it where it is.

I also want to be a recording with the big band in the studio with a live audience, maybe thirty or forty people and I want to record the music like the old day. The big band and me right there in front of this audience. It might even make this a “Go Fund Me” type project. We as musicians are always working in and out of the studios, but I think it would be cool for some of the people who like the band and want to contribute to this project to get a chance to experience the recording studio atmosphere. It is a lot of pressure to have to sing and play live on a record it because there are no retakes, but I think we are ready for it.

NOJ: Got any anxious thoughts about the Blue Note gig?

  JG:  I have one. I ‘m going home after this to practice this new song that Clifford Brown wrote for his wife. It is called “La Rue” it is a ballad that Clifford wrote and this guy Rich Pullen wrote the lyrics to it and it has never been played. Bobby Shew turned Pullen on to me and he thinks I would be perfect to sing this. It is a Clifford Brown melody which is to say it is a trumpet melody and it is  difficult to sing. It’s a beautiful ballad so I’ll do my best, but we will premiere it at the Blue Note so I’m a little revved up about that.

NOJ: Any words of wisdom for any up and coming musicians who may be reading this?

  JG:  The most important thing as a musician is putting in the time early, practicing so that the technique is second nature and do the homework to listen to what came before you. If you love it, you have got to pursue it. Also learn to sight read well. The musicians that work the most are the musicians that can sight read the best.

NOJ:  Thanks Joe and good luck at the Blue Note.