Biography
Grachan Moncur III emerged as an innovative trombonist and composer whose daring improvisational approach featured searing lines and explosive harmonic choices rooted in blues and bebop yet extending well beyond those foundations, thereby shaping the cutting edge of free jazz and post-bop. He gained early recognition during the 1960s through two pivotal Blue Note recordings, Evolution from 1963 and Some Other Stuff from 1964. Prior notice had already come from his contributions to saxophonist Jackie McLean’s Destination Out!, after which he collaborated with forward-thinking players including Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, and Beaver Harris. Although he issued only a limited number of leader dates across the 1970s and 1980s, Moncur stayed central to the scene by instructing younger musicians and performing alongside Frank Lowe and Big John Patton. He returned to the foreground in 2004 with Exploration, a project developed with arranger Mark Masters that showcased Tim Hagans and Billy Harper. His last recording, 2007’s Inner Cry Blues, displayed the same inventive drive that had marked his earlier work.
Born on June 3, 1937, in New York City, Moncur spent his formative years in Newark, New Jersey, as the son of bassist Grachan Moncur II. He first took up cello at age nine and moved to trombone at age 11. During adolescence he enrolled at the private Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, the same school once attended by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. In those years he began sitting in at neighborhood venues and formed enduring ties with Art Blakey and Jackie McLean. Following graduation he traveled with Ray Charles and Sonny Rollins while also joining Art Farmer and Benny Golson’s Jazztet, making his recording debut on the ensemble’s 1962 album Another Git Together.
In 1963 Moncur joined Jackie McLean in the studio for the saxophonist’s Blue Note dates Destination Out! and One Step Beyond, both of which also included vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. As a bandleader he launched his own Blue Note career that same year with Evolution, a defining statement of the emerging post-bop avant-garde that again paired him with McLean and trumpeter Lee Morgan. The following year he delivered the equally adventurous Some Other Stuff, this time enlisting Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Those releases reflected the sociopolitical atmosphere of the period and earned Moncur a place on poet and activist Amiri Baraka’s 1965 concert New Black Music, later issued as The New Wave in Jazz and also featuring Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, and John Coltrane.
Moncur soon became a member of Shepp’s group and appeared on sessions by Roswell Rudd and Beaver Harris, the latter partnership leading to his involvement in the cooperative 360 Degree Music Experience. Extended stays in Paris during the late 1960s yielded two albums for the BYG Actuel label, New Africa and Aco dei de Madrugada (One Morning I Waked Up Very Early). In 1974 the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra commissioned him to compose a jazz symphony for orchestra and soloists, which he released that year as Echoes of Prayer. A sixth album, Shadows, appeared in 1977 as a Japan-only release and presented Moncur fronting a group that included Marion Brown, Reggie Workman, Joe Chambers, Dave Burrell, Roland Prince, and Andy Bey.
He maintained activity through the 1980s, contributing to Big John Patton’s 1983 album Soul Connection and to Frank Lowe’s 1984 Decision In Paradise alongside trumpeter Don Cherry, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Charles Moffett. Additional recordings involved vocalist Cassandra Wilson, the Paris Reunion Band, and William Parker. Mounting health concerns and copyright issues curtailed his own releases, prompting a greater focus on teaching. In 2004 he resurfaced with Exploration on Capri Records, presenting his compositions arranged by Mark Masters for an octet that featured Tim Hagans, Billy Harper, Gary Bartz, Andrew Cyrille, and additional players. Two years later he issued Inner Cry Blues with a Bay Area ensemble comprising trumpeter Erik Jekabson, tenor saxophonist Mitch Marcus, bassist Lukas Vesely, and drummer Sameer Gupta. After an extended illness, Moncur died of cardiac arrest on June 3, 2022, at his home in Newark, New Jersey, coinciding with his 85th birthday.
Born on June 3, 1937, in New York City, Moncur spent his formative years in Newark, New Jersey, as the son of bassist Grachan Moncur II. He first took up cello at age nine and moved to trombone at age 11. During adolescence he enrolled at the private Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina, the same school once attended by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. In those years he began sitting in at neighborhood venues and formed enduring ties with Art Blakey and Jackie McLean. Following graduation he traveled with Ray Charles and Sonny Rollins while also joining Art Farmer and Benny Golson’s Jazztet, making his recording debut on the ensemble’s 1962 album Another Git Together.
In 1963 Moncur joined Jackie McLean in the studio for the saxophonist’s Blue Note dates Destination Out! and One Step Beyond, both of which also included vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. As a bandleader he launched his own Blue Note career that same year with Evolution, a defining statement of the emerging post-bop avant-garde that again paired him with McLean and trumpeter Lee Morgan. The following year he delivered the equally adventurous Some Other Stuff, this time enlisting Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Those releases reflected the sociopolitical atmosphere of the period and earned Moncur a place on poet and activist Amiri Baraka’s 1965 concert New Black Music, later issued as The New Wave in Jazz and also featuring Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, and John Coltrane.
Moncur soon became a member of Shepp’s group and appeared on sessions by Roswell Rudd and Beaver Harris, the latter partnership leading to his involvement in the cooperative 360 Degree Music Experience. Extended stays in Paris during the late 1960s yielded two albums for the BYG Actuel label, New Africa and Aco dei de Madrugada (One Morning I Waked Up Very Early). In 1974 the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra commissioned him to compose a jazz symphony for orchestra and soloists, which he released that year as Echoes of Prayer. A sixth album, Shadows, appeared in 1977 as a Japan-only release and presented Moncur fronting a group that included Marion Brown, Reggie Workman, Joe Chambers, Dave Burrell, Roland Prince, and Andy Bey.
He maintained activity through the 1980s, contributing to Big John Patton’s 1983 album Soul Connection and to Frank Lowe’s 1984 Decision In Paradise alongside trumpeter Don Cherry, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Charles Moffett. Additional recordings involved vocalist Cassandra Wilson, the Paris Reunion Band, and William Parker. Mounting health concerns and copyright issues curtailed his own releases, prompting a greater focus on teaching. In 2004 he resurfaced with Exploration on Capri Records, presenting his compositions arranged by Mark Masters for an octet that featured Tim Hagans, Billy Harper, Gary Bartz, Andrew Cyrille, and additional players. Two years later he issued Inner Cry Blues with a Bay Area ensemble comprising trumpeter Erik Jekabson, tenor saxophonist Mitch Marcus, bassist Lukas Vesely, and drummer Sameer Gupta. After an extended illness, Moncur died of cardiac arrest on June 3, 2022, at his home in Newark, New Jersey, coinciding with his 85th birthday.
Albums
