Story & Photos by Leigh Lofgren – leigh@lakeoconeenews.us
Last Thursday evening at Festival Hall, a swingin’ good time holiday show came to Greensboro with Atlanta-based Joe Gransden and his band.
Gransden has performed around the world and released 16 albums under his name. Despite being known primarily as a trumpeter, his voice has been compared to those of legends Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra. He’s been performing for more than 30 years, including for Clint East- wood at home and, of course, in Las Vegas.
Gransden is not only a great trumpet player and a fabulous singer, but a very funny man as evidenced by his between-songs chats. At Festival Hall last Thursday evening, he brought some fine musicians with him, including Dr. Geoffrey Haydon on piano, Chris Burroughs on drums, Neal Starkey on bass, Vinnie Dagostino on baritone sax, Lee King on trumpet, Wes Funderburk on trombone, and well-known Lake Country musician John Sandfort of the Jazz Legacy Project on tenor saxophone.
Also joining Gransden was singer Robin Latimore, who is not only an incredibly gifted vocalist but a philanthropist, choir director, event planner and talent producer. Her voice brought the Greensboro audience to loud applause.
Also performing with Gransden was Festival Hall artistic director and jazz vocalist Nicole Chillemi, with her sultry tones making the evening complete.
Compliments from the audience included:
“Awesome show, felt so good afterward.” — Betty Harbison
“The show was spectacular! Every song was perfection. Hope they return.” — Joyce Kender
“The entire show left my daughter and I mesmerized. Every single one of them was extremely talented. We were blown away and so happy we went.” — Sandra Davis
The event marked the last for Festival Hall’s 2024 calendar.