Big Band Christmas an entertaining evening

Humor emerged as a secondary theme during the Big Band Christmas with Joe Gransden Saturday at Spivey Hall (the first theme, of course, being Christmas). When he wasn’t singing or playing the trumpet in front of a big band, Gransden played the self-deprecating funny boy. He forgot lyrics to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” he told funny stories and he joked around with the band. Gransden and the rest of the soloists also cracked wise musically. When trumpeter Adam Hayes unveiled a piccolo trumpet as a jazz foil on the tune “Angels We Have Heard on High” the piece devolved into a humorous exchange of solos pitting jazz against Baroque music, and Gransden joked with tenor Sam Skelton in the opening of “Linus and Lucy” to comedic musical effect.

For all the musical gags, the musicians formed a cohesive big band unit, navigating complex musical passages with crisp accuracy. Many of the assembled players in the 16-piece band are fixtures of the Atlanta jazz scene, from Tyrone Jackson on piano to Eric Alexander on trombone. Throughout the evening, vocalist Audrey Shakir joined Gransden for a handful of songs. Shakir has a warm, earthy grain to her voice that mixes well with Gransden’s laid-back delivery.

On a few numbers, the hectic big-band accompaniment clashed with Gransden’s play-it-cool demeanor. When pushed, his syrupy syllables run faster, but not much. Saturday night, Gransden proved he’s most comfortable laying into the solid backbeat of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” and that he’s never averse to playing the clown.