Michael Grandé
 |
|
Michael GrandÉ |
Michael Grandé is a phenomenal guitarist,
known for his 5-finger picking
technique, guitar flourishes, soft, gentle voice,
and rapport with his audiences. His repertoire includes Western
ballads, flamenco
instrumentals and folk, pop and devotional songs. Much
of what he
plays are his own compositions.
Michael Grandé grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and
served in the
Marines. In 1969 he played at Woodstock where he was invited
to
become a member of Richie Havens' band. In addition to Richie
Havens,
Grandé has performed
around the world with many
well-known artists, including Bruce Springsteen,
James Taylor,
José Feliciano and Van Morrison, just to name a few. Several years
ago he moved to Cochise County,
Arizona, where he
and his wife
raise Arabian horses on a ranch
near Tombstone.
Grandé has appeared at major performance venues
all over the world. In the United States these include Carnegie Hall,
Tanglewood, Central Park, Phoenix's Desert Sky Pavilion and Country Thunder,
where he received three standing ovations from a crowd of 250,000.
Grandé's CD's are: "Hey Friend," "Small
Things," "Especially For You and "Forever." Violinist David Kaemmer, who has appeared with
Grande at the Arizona Folklore Preserve,
is one of the people who accompany Grandé on
"Small Things" and "Especially For You."
Other artists
who perform with Grandé on "Small Things" are Mike
Smith, pedal steel guitarist from the Gatlin
Brothers, and Les Lumley, percussionist from the Miles Davis Band. In addition to Kaemmer and Smith,
Tim West and P. deJardin join Grandé on "Especially for You."
His new CD "Forever"
contains a mix of
ballads and Grandé's
virtuoso instrumentals.
The following is a review of
Grandé's September 6, 2009, Folklore Preserve performance by Sierra
Vista Herald columnist Richard Zoller.
Richard Zoller, "The
Last Word," Sierra Vista Herald
Tempo Magazine, September 10, 2009
Again, Grande is a guitar
virtuoso
By Richard Zoller
 The concert at the Ramsey Canyon Preserve on Sunday afternoon
featured Michael Grande as the performing artist. I would not
willingly miss any of his concerts.
His ability on guitar has fascinated me since the old days at the
Moffat House. In fact, I am so enamored by his playing that I have
characterized him in this column as the world’s most exciting
acoustical guitarist. This concert reinforced that opinion.
Michael opened with a tribute to his wife, Diane, who has progressed
from non-singer to very good backup and harmony vocalist. His
overture was an exciting composition named ”Revelry” after Diane’s
magnificent Arabian stallion (Diane has been breeding Arabian horses
since long before she met Michael.) The music displays the stallion
in all of his moods. The overture was fairly long. It ended as
Michael broke into a song, a tuneful story with a twist of humor,
“The Lady from Baltimore.” Michael’s voice has a hint of huskiness
that is appealing.
From that time forward the concert alternated between stories and
music. Michael is a good storyteller and a marvelous accompanist to
his own voice.
When he sings it is almost always a song that he
has composed. His general style separates verses or parts of a song
with a passage of guitar music. These ad lib choruses are always
stimulating, harmonically involved, and executed with the scarcely
believable five-finger picking for which he is famous. Still, the
seemingly ad-lib passage leads seamlessly into he next vocal
section.
Michael has written a lot of memorable songs. Among those most
requested are “This Guitar is For Sale,” “Second-handDog” (Diane
should be proud of her contribution to this one), “Midnight Bus,” an
exciting recollection of early days on the road, “Monday Lover,” and
“We Can Do that Now.”
The song that should be the theme song of the SPCA or all
organizations whose purpose is to protect wildlife, “Man Walks Among
Us.” This is a really fine song that gives us an inkling of the
thoughts that animals might have about us.
The Grandes introduced us to Al Armenta. Al is a handler and horse
trainer, who operates a riding academy. He also is involved in
“Horses for Heroes,” which treats post-combat after-effects of
veterans of all the services.
Michael Grande was asked to write a theme song for the “Heroes”
organization. He did so, both lyrics and music, and sang it at the
concert. It is an excellent song, and the organization is a boon to
our veterans who have been injured serving our nation. |
since 7/21/08