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Born in New York city, Jazz Trumpet Player/Vocalist and Band leader Joe Gransden has performed worldwide and released 19 CDs under his own name. Renowned first for the hard bop approach of his trumpet, Gransden’s singing voice has been compared to that of Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra.

Not long after high school, Joe was on the road as a sideman with the big bands of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. A number of A.F.M. contracted sideman gigs include Barry White, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rogers, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The Whispers, etc. Eventually moving to New York City, he performed with numerous groups, including sub work with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Chico O’Farrill at the famous Birdland Jazz Club.

Joe has been performing 300+ gigs per year throughout the country at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Jazz Club in midtown Manhattan, The Blue Note in New York City, and Tehema Golf Club in Carmel, California (where Joe regularly plays events for Clint Eastwood). Eastwood said of Gransden, “Joe is a great talent with a wonderful sense of humor to boot. And don’t forget, he plays a hell of a trumpet!”.

His latest recording project produced by Kenny Banks Sr. “Let’s Take A Chance Together” was released in April 2026 and features new takes on the great American Songbook.

Most recently, his big band has been on the road and will be at Lincoln Center shis summer with “The Good Life – Happy 100^th to Tony Bennett!”  His 18-piece band takes the stage at the Savannah Jazz Festival this year to get the big crowd swinging!