Joe Gransden is Atlanta's premiere Jazz celebrity, with 12 albums under his own name, and now a 13th record with BeHip Records®. His unique and poignant approach of the trumpet is highly regarded worldwide by both musicians and music lovers, and his record with BeHip Records® is stretching into an exciting new territory of "uncharted" explorations in improvisation: truly a work of art.
Joe has performed worldwide with the biggest names of the industry and has brought his tremendous voice to many genres of music including the big bands of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller; as a sideman with folks including Barry White, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rogers, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, and many others; and he leads his own big band and various small groups regularly in Atlanta and abroad, with recent performances by his big band at the Blue Note in NYC. Actor and director Clint Eastwood says, "Joe is a young man [with] an old soul and a classic voice. He is a great new talent, with a wonderful sense of humor to boot. And don't forget, he plays a hell of a trumpet!".
Kenny Banks... composer, arranger and performer who slips effortlessly among musical styles while retaining his own distinct sound.
Kenny has appeared on BET and the Image Awards. He has performed at the inauguration for President Barack Obama and appeared in such notable places as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Philharmonie in Berlin. Kenny has also appeared in movie scenes from Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys"and has a composition entitled "Hello Love" on the GMC movie "Raising Izzie". Among his many high profile performing credits are appearances with Earl Klugh, Kenny Garrett, Wess Anderson, Russell Gunn, Lizz Wright, Rene Marie, Kevin Mahogany, Kurt Whalum, Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, Jennifer Holiday, Aretha Franklin and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He continues to record and perform abroad with, among others, international recording artist Lizz Wright. The release of "Truly Free" is Kenny's first Jazz CD as a leader and his latest recording is "Dichotomy", a duet record with Joe Gransden.
Craig Shaw is an Atlanta born and based bassist of great acclaim. He is a graduate of both Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University, and is a mainstay freelance performer and educator of jazz and classical bass in Atlanta. His performance resume reads as a Who's Who of performers from Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Don Byron, Lionel Hampton, Rufus Reid, Wynton Marsalis, T.K. Blue, Oliver Lake, Chico Freeman, Mark Murphy, Quincy Jones, Lou Rawls, plus many others.
Chris Burroughs Is one of the most versatile drummers on the Atlanta music scene. Specializing In everything from Rock to World music, Chris takes a metaphysical approach to percussion. He is in the moment, beating his own path to the Source, and always searching for the next level.