Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.
Biography
Born in New York City, United States, and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Grachan Moncur III began playing the cello at the age of nine, and switched to the trombone when he was 11. In high school, he attended the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, the private school where Dizzy Gillespie had studied. While still at school, he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, including Art Blakey and Jackie McLean, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.After high school, Moncur toured with Ray Charles, Art Farmer and Benny Golson's Jazztet, and Sonny Rollins. He took part in two Jackie McLean albums for Blue Note in 1963, One Step Beyond and Destination... Out!, to which he also contributed the bulk of compositions. He recorded two albums of his own for Blue Note, Evolution with Jackie McLean and Lee Morgan, and Some Other Stuff with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.
Moncur joined Archie Shepp's ensemble, and recorded with other avant-garde players such as Marion Brown, Beaver Harris and Roswell Rudd. During a stay in Paris in the summer of 1969, he recorded two albums as a leader for the BYG Actuel label, New Africa and Aco Dei de Madrugada, as well as appearing as a sideman on other releases of the label. In 1974, the Jazz Composer's Orchestra commissioned him to write Echoes of Prayer, a jazz symphony featuring a full orchestra plus vocalists and jazz soloists. His sixth album as a leader, Shadows was released only in Japan. He was subsequently plagued by health problems and copyright disputes and recorded only rarely. Through the 1980s, he recorded with Cassandra Wilson, played occasionally with the Paris Reunion Band and Frank Lowe, appeared on Big John Patton's Soul Connection, but mostly concentrated on teaching. In 2004, he re-emerged with a new album, Exploration, on Capri Records featuring Moncur's compositions arranged by Mark Masters for an octet including Tim Hagans and Gary Bartz.
Moncur died from cardiac arrest on June 3, 2022, his 85th birthday, at his home in Newark, New Jersey.
Discography
As a leader
Evolution Some Other Stuff- "Blue Free" and "The Intellect" on The New Wave in Jazz The New Breed Sides C and D-1 New Africa Aco Dei de Madrugada Echoes of Prayer Shadows Exploration
- ''Inner Cry Blues''
As a sideman
with Marion Brown:Juba-Lee Three for Sheppwith Dave Burrell:Echo La Vie de Bohème
with Benny Golson:Here and Now – with Art Farmer Another Git Together – with Art FarmerPop + Jazz = Swing – later version as Just Jazz!Stockholm Sojourn
with Herbie Hancock:My Point of View
with Beaver Harris:Safe Beautiful Africa Live at Nyon
with Joe Henderson:The Kicker
with Khan Jamal:Black Awareness
with Frank Lowe:Decision in Paradise
with Jackie McLean:One Step Beyond Destination... Out! 'Bout Soul Hipnosis
with Lee Morgan:The Last Session
with Butch Morris:In Touch... but out of Reach
with Sunny Murray:Homage to Africa
with Sunny Murray, Khan Jamal and Romulus:Change of the Century Orchestra
with Paris Reunion Band:For Klook
with William Parker:In Order to Survive
with John Patton:Soul Connection
with The Reunion Legacy Band:The Legacy
with Archie Shepp:Mama Too Tight The Way Ahead (album) Poem for Malcolm For Losers Things Have Got to Change Live at the Pan-African Festival Life at the Donaueschingen Festival Kwanza Freedom
with Archie Shepp and Roswell Rudd:Live in New York
with Wayne Shorter:The All Seeing Eye
with Alan Silva:Luna Surface
with Clifford Thornton:Ketchaoua
with Chris White:The Chris White Project
with Cassandra Wilson:
- ''Point of View''