I’ve previously had occasion in these pages to sing the praises of Donald Grantham (b. 1947) as one of America’s finest living composers of concert band music, with compositions that are unfailingly tuneful, ingratiating, inventive, and colorful. J’ai été au bal (I Was at the Ball) is no exception, being a witty romp through the brass band music of New Orleans that employs two Cajun folk tunes, “Allons danser, Colinda” (Let’s go dancing, Colinda) and “Les flames d’enfer” (The flames of hell).

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