Grachan Moncur

One of the New Thing's extremely few trombonists and a greatly underappreciated composer of tremendous evocative power, Grachan Moncur III got his first major exposure on Jackie McLean's groundbreaking 1963 masterpiece, One Step Beyond. Toward the end of the year, most of the same musicians reconvened for Moncur's debut as a leader, Evolution; McLean, vibist Bobby Hutcherson, and drummer Tony Williams are all back, with Bob Cranshaw on bass and an extra voice in trumpeter Lee Morgan, moonlighting from his usual groovy hard bop style. While Moncur takes a little more solo space here, the main emphasis is on his talent as a composer. The four originals are all extended, multi-sectioned works (the shortest is around eight minutes), all quite ambitious, and all terrifically moody; much of the album sounds sinister and foreboding, and even the brighter material has a twisted, surreal fun-house undercurrent…

Grachan Moncur III - Mosaic Select (2003) {3CD Set Mosaic MS-001 rec 1963-1967}
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© 1963-67, 2003 Blue Note / Mosaic Records | MS-001 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Post Bop / Trombone

Mosaic Records – that venerable jazz and blues collector's label that issues completely necessary packages by legendary, if sometimes obscure, artists in limited editions on both LP and CD – is a name synonymous with the finest quality in sound, annotation, and packaging, and they are branching out. Mosaic Select is a side label dedicated to bringing to light the work of musicians whose role in the development of jazz was seminal but whose catalog was small, or whose work was neglected or otherwise overlooked. These editions, in two or three CD sets, just like their other boxes, are numbered and limited.

Grachan Moncur III was one of the top trombonists of the jazz avant-garde in the 1960s although he had only a few chances to lead his own record sessions. This 1964 set (which has been reissued on CD) was one of his finest, a quintet outing with bassist Cecil McBee, two of the members of the Miles Davis Quintet (pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Tony Williams), and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter just a brief time before he joined Miles.

Grachan Moncur III - Some Other Stuff (1964) {Blue Note Japan TOCJ-4177 rel 1995}
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© 1964, 1995 Blue Note / EMI-Toshiba | TOCJ-4177
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Trombone

Grachan Moncur III was one of the top trombonists of the jazz avant-garde in the 1960s although he had only a few chances to lead his own record sessions. This 1964 set (which has been reissued on CD) was one of his finest, a quintet outing with bassist Cecil McBee, two of the members of the Miles Davis Quintet (pianist Herbie Hancock and drummer Tony Williams), and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter just a brief time before he joined Miles. The group performs four of Moncur's challenging originals, including "Nomadic" (which is largely a drum solo) and "The Twins," which is built off of one chord. None of the compositions caught on but the strong and very individual improvising of the young musicians is enough of a reason to acquire the advanced music.

Trombonist Grachan Moncur III, who was a member of the Jazztet in the early 1960s, gained his greatest fame for his two Blue Note albums (Evolution and Some Other Stuff) which were quite adventurous. He also worked with Archie Shepp, became involved in free jazz and spent much of the 1970s and '80s as a music educator.

Archie Shepp - For Losers & Kwanza (2011) {Impulse! 2-on-1 Series Remaster rec 1970-1974}
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© 1970-74, 2011 Impulse! / Verve / Universal Music | 06007 5334722
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Spiritual Jazz / Modal Music / Saxophone

Archie Shepp started his career as a new thing firebrand, an acolyte of John Coltrane and a fierce advocate for civil rights. By the time these sessions were recorded in the late 60's and early 70's, Shepp had changed—developing a funky style of R&B tinged jazz that wasn't exactly fusion, but definitely showed an awareness of what people like James Brown and Sly Stone were up to. The first album on this 2-fer, is the rare disc For Losers, and it surprises you right from the jump with a straight up R&B tune called “Stick 'em Up," which wouldn't have sounded out of place on the AM radio of the time.

Jackie McLean - Destination… Out! (1963) {Blue Note Japan RVG Cardboard Sleeve TOCJ-9555 rel 2003}
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© 1963, 2003 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI Japan | TOCJ-9555
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Alto Saxophone

Like Eric Dolphy before him, Jackie McLean sought to create a kind of vanguard "chamber jazz" that still had the blues feel and – occasionally – the groove of hard bop, though with rounded, moodier edges. Destination Out! was the album on which he found it. Still working with Grachan Moncur III and Bobby Hutcherson – his direct spiritual connection to Dolphy – McLean changed his rhythm section by employing drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Larry Ridley. This combination proved a perfect balance of the four elements. The program is four tunes, three of which were written by Moncur.

Marion Brown Septet - Juba-Lee (1966) {Fontana Japan PHCE-1007 rel 1990}
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© 1966, 1990 Fontana Japan | PHCE-1007
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Recorded only a month before his classic Impulse debut, Three for Shepp, this much overlooked session, though quite different, is more than reputable in its own right. The reason for its obscurity is pretty simple. Juba-Lee, as of May 2003, had yet to see formal release anywhere in the world other than its original Dutch pressing and subsequent reissues in Japan. Otherwise, it bears a good deal of resemblance to his Marion Brown Quartet date on ESP, so listeners familiar with that session should know what to expect here. Among other reasons, this is because both sessions share the talents of Alan Shorter and bassist, Reggie Johnson. Also on hand were tenor man Bennie Maupin, pianist Dave Burrell, drummer Beaver Harris, and trombonist Grachan Moncur III.