A forum for jazz reviews, discussion of new jazz, blues music, the musicians, reviews of recent and historical releases, reviews of live performances, concerts, interviews and almost anything I find of interest.
by Ralph A. Miriello
With the first flurries of snow, the smell of wood burning
in an open hearth and a brisk winter chill settling into the morning air, everyone
is getting ready to enjoy a festive holiday season this year. Whether you’ll be
trimming a Christmas tree, stringing decorative lights on your house or
lighting a menorah these wonderful rituals are always better completed with
some holiday music playing in the background. I myself can’t wait till
Thanksgiving has past to bring out my stack of Christmas jazz. My collection is an eclectic mix of old and
new. Some of my favorites include Frank Sinatra’s A Jolly Christmas, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, Ted Rosenthal’s Wonderland, Marcus Roberts’ Prayer
for Peace and a couple of collections Jazz
to the World and A Jazzy Wonderland
to name just a few.
This year I got a chance to preview the new Joe Gransden Big
Band Holiday recording The Christmas Songand suffice it to say I have a new album to add to my holiday collection. The Atlanta
based bandleader/trumpeter/vocalist has put together a fabulous album with his knock
out big band and a gorgeous string section that is a must have for anyone who
loves their holiday music served up hot, jazzy and with some swing.
Balladeer Gransden has been leading his big
band since as far back as 2006. Keeping such a large group together for such an
extended period is a testament to Joe’s hard work and determination to preserve
the big band sound. His rotating group of first-call, local musicians are all standouts,
many of them performing nationally, some well-respected educators teaching a
new crop of jazz students at prestigious universities, all dedicated to the greater
sound of this big band.
Gransden has a medium timbre, silk glove of a voice that
has been burnished by long exposure and careful study of such vocal greats as Sinatra
and Bennett mixed with the more contemporary sounds of Bobby Darin and Harry Connick
Jr. He is an affable character who
engages with his audience with a self-deprecating humor and a million-dollar
smile.
On this album Gransden selects fourteen holiday songs, many
old-time favorites mixed in with a sprinkling of the blues. All are rendered bristling
and new by fresh arrangements that utilize the band’s big sound with a few augmented
by a lush string section.
The opener “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” finds
Joe’s mellifluous tenor fronting a rousing arrangement by Jeff Jarvis which
just propels you off your seat. The strong walking bass by Starkey and brief
but bright piano solo by Banks is complimented by a gorgeous string
accompaniment.
The children’s classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”
features a wonderfully swinging brass arrangement by Wes Funderburk with Joe
crooning away with true Sinatra swagger. The band cooks, as the big round sound
of bassist Starkey takes a solo before John Sandfort wails on his tenor.
Christmas can also bring the blues to some and Joe’s Sinatra-esque
“That’s Life” sounding version of the Charles Brown and Gene Redd “Please Come
Home for Xmas” is made all the more poignant with some stirring saxophone work
by altoist Mace Hibbard behind the Jeff Jarvis arrangement.
The band is given free rein to rock on the festive “Winter
Wonderland” on an Eric Alexander arrangement.
Perhaps my favorite on the album is the very hip Jim Basile arrangement
of the Nat King Cole favorite “Nature Boy.” The band just slays on this one and Gransden offers some of his finest trumpet solo work on this classic.
Starkey and Varnes keep the pace swinging and Banks accompaniment is subtle and
superb. Gransden’s voice is at his most sincere and he hits some
difficult notes with a polished panache.
No holiday album would be complete without a version of “A
Christmas Song” dutifully playing with a yule log burning in the fireplace in the background. No one can
approach the iconic sound of Nat Cole on this classic, but Gransden does a
credible job of singing it with humble believability. The big band is missing here,
but for the bass, the piano, Sam Skelton on flute and Jeff Jarvis' flugelhorn backed by a sea
of strings.
Another favorite is the slick arrangement by Wes Funderburk
on the hip “Cool Yule.” I’ve never heard this song before, but it will easily be
added to my Christmas song rotation at home. Here Gransden sings this swinger
with a cool aplomb, encouraging the trombone section before rendering his own soaring
trumpet solo. Vocalist John Hopkins lends his raspy voice near the end in a
short duet with Gransden for the finale.
The band is given another chance to use its multiple voices
on a frantic version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” with another spectacular
arrangement by lead trombonist Wes Funderburk. Tenor man John Sandfort gets the
call on this one and tears it up on his horn as the band pulses behind him. Gransden gets another
feature on trumpet which he uses to play a dancing solo that he brings to a
soaring climax. The band simmers to a
boil.
The album continues with “It’s A Most Wonderful Time of the
Year,” which is played in two different tempos.
The perennial “White Christmas”
has a Woody Herman, Four Brothers inspired, saxophone section feature, arranged by
Vince Norman, that just swings in wonderful synchronicity. Gransden offers a warm flugelhorn solo in contrast.
The heartwarming “Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas” is deftly arranged as a quartet piece by pianist Banks and opens
with a muted trumpet played by Gransden that he overdubs against his own mellow
vocal.
“Angels We Have Heard on High” is
played with a big boisterous sound by the big band. This Eric Alexander
arrangement calls for two trumpets at different registers often playing
simultaneously, with Gransden taking the lower register solo and lead trumpeter
Kevin Lyons taking the higher part, at times sounding very baroque in his attack.
The last two songs are both based on a Wes Funderburk
arrangement of “Holly Jolly Christmas.” Drummer Varnes leads off with a cadenced
snare solo that leads into a fun call and response saxophone duel between
altoists Mace Hibbard and Sam Skelton. The band is pumping on this and Gransden’s
vocal delivery is smooth and cheerful. They end the album with a brief reprise of
the chorus.
If you’re like me and enjoy a month or so of holiday sounds bellowing
throughout your home, then Joe Gransden and his Big Band’s The Christmas Song is a must have.
Personnel : Mace Hibbard, lead alto; Sam Skelton, alto
saxophone; John Sandfort, tenor saxophone: Mike Walton, tenor saxophone; Don
Erdman, baritone, saxophone; Wes
Funderburk, lead trombone, Tom Gibson, trombone, Kevin Hyde, trombone; Lee
Watts, bass trombone; Chip Crotts, lead trumpet; Clark Hunt, lead trumpet;
Kevin Lyons, trumpet; Hardin Butcher, trumpet; Melvin Jones, trumpet; Kenny
Banks Sr. piano; Neal Starkey, bass; Justin Varns, drums.
Strings: Violins, Mary Burndrett, David Edwards, Ginny
Respress Fairchild, Kathryn Koch, Angele Lawless, Patrick Ryan, Jessica Stinson
and Andy Zabrinski. Cellos: Barney Culver, Roy Harran, Strings Contractor:
Jonathan Wright. Strings Conducted by Jeff Jarvis.
Recorded at Brighter Shade Studios, Atlanta, GA by John Driskell
Hopkins and Thom “TK” Kidd
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 18th 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.
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 1995-1999andthen 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?
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.
