Grachan Moncur III

A trailblazing trombonist and composer, Grachan Moncur III was a bold improviser whose searing, harmonically explosive style (rooted in blues and bebop but reaching far beyond those traditions) helped to define the sound of edgy free jazz and post-bop. Moncur rose to prominence in the 1960s with his two landmark Blue Note sessions, 1963's Evolution and 1964's Some Other Stuff. The trombonist had already garnered attention playing on saxophonist Jackie McLean's classic Destination Out! and would go on to record with adventurous avant-garde improvisors like Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Beaver Harris, and others. While he only released a handful of his own albums through the '70s and 80s, he remained a vital presence, teaching and working with luminaries like Frank Lowe and Big John Patton. He re-emerged with 2004's Exploration, a collaboration with arranger Mark Masters, featuring stars like Tim Hagans and Billy Harper. His final album, 2007's Inner Cry Blues, also found him just as inspired and boundary-pushing as ever. Born June 3, 1937 in New York City, Moncur grew up in Newark, New Jersey the son of bassist Grachan Moncur II. The young Moncur initially started out on the cello at age nine before switching to trombone at age 11. As a teenager, he attended the private Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, where trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie had studied. It was during this period that he started sitting in at local clubs and made lasting connections with players like Art Blakey and Jackie McLean. After high school, he toured with Ray Charles and Sonny Rollins and was a member of Art Farmer and Benny Golson's Jazztet. It was with the Jazztet that he made his recorded debut, appearing on 1962's Another Git Together. In 1963, he entered the studio with Jackie McLean, appearing on two of the saxophonist's landmark Blue Note sessions, Destination Out! and One Step Beyond, both also featuring vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. As a leader, Moncur made his solo debut for Blue Note with 1963's Evolution, itself a landmark of the burgeoning post-bop avant-garde movement. It again found him working with McLean, as well as trumpeter Lee Morgan. He returned the following year with another vibrantly exploratory album, Some Other Stuff, this time featuring Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. These albums captured the sociopolitical Zeitgeist of the era, earning Moncur a spot on poet and activist Amiri Baraka's 1965 concert New Black Music, later released as The New Wave in Jazz and also featuring artists like Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, and John Coltrane. Moncur soon joined Shepp's ensemble and recorded on albums by avant-garde artists like Roswell Rudd and Beaver Harris, the latter of whom he joined in the cooperative group 360 Degree Music Experience. He spent extended periods in Paris in the late '60s, where he recorded two albums for the BYG Actuel label, New Africa and Aco dei de Madrugada (One Morning I Waked Up Very Early). In 1974, he was commissioned by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra to write a jazz symphony for full orchestra and soloists that he released that same year as Echoes of Prayer. A sixth album, Shadows, arrived in 1977 (as a Japan-only release) and found Moncur leading a group with Marion Brown, Reggie Workman, Joe Chambers, Dave Burrell, Roland Prince, and Andy Bey. He remained active into the '80s, playing on Big John Patton's 1983 album Soul Connection, and appeared on Frank Lowe's 1984 album Decision In Paradise with trumpeter Don Cherry, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Charles Moffett. There were also recordings with vocalist Cassandra Wilson, the Paris Reunion Band, and William Parker. However, increasing health problems and copyright disputes limited his own output, and he concentrated more on teaching. In 2004, he re-emerged with Exploration on Capri Records, featuring his compositions arranged by Mark Masters for an octet that included Tim Hagans, Billy Harper, Gary Bartz, Andrew Cyrille, and others. Two years later, he delivered Inner Cry Blues, featuring a Bay Area-based group with trumpeter Erik Jekabson, tenor saxophonist Mitch Marcus, bassist Lukas Vesely, and drummer Sameer Gupta. Following a lengthy illness, Moncur died on June 3, 2022 at his home in Newark, New Jersey from cardiac arrest. It was his 85th birthday. ~ Matt Collar