When: The Grachan Moncur III Thread

It's two Jackie McLean LPs and a Herbie Hancock LP I have him on from that discography above; he's not on the Archie Shepp album I have.

Except for Some Other Stuff, Moncur's CDs are really expensive on Amazon (at least the Canadian branch).

Evolution is also reasonably priced on Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Grachan-Moncur-III/dp/B001CAVLF0

He made two albums in the 2000s; I haven't heard Inner Cry Blues, but Exploration is really good - re-recordings of old tunes with an absolutely killer band including Tim Hagans on trumpet, John Clark on French horn, Dave Woodley on trombone, Gary Bartz on alto sax, Billy Harper on tenor sax, Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Ray Drummond on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums.

https://www.amazon.com/Exploration-Grachan-Moncur-III/dp/B0006LINKM

I really like the trombone/alto/vibes frontline sound of Evolution and those two McLeans.

I should listen to New Africa more often. Aco Dei De Madrugada (also on BYG, often paired as a twofer with New Africa now) has always been my personal favorite for the low key bluesy feel and the instrumentation of just the lead trombone and rhythm section. Mmmm-mmmm-good.

Also, good luck finding it, but Echoes of Prayer, a Mantler/Bley produced date performing Moncur's 4 movement suite is a trombone fete. Also includes Carlos Ward & Perry Robinson in the large ensemble. It was on JCOA and is typical of their sound. OR as Scott Yanow noted on AMG: "The music is quite advanced, sometimes pretty dense, and will take a few listens to fully digest."

Scott Yanow should be the last person one looks to for advice on Grachan Moncur's music.

Scott Yanow should be the last person one looks to for advice on Grachan Moncur's music.

Yeah, I was gonna say, Yanow says that about pretty much anything that's not straight-ahead bop.

I wrote a whole semi-diatribe against him years ago on my blog:

Scott Yanow is a pretentious butt who is maddeningly redundant in his criticisms.
»Just look at the Joe Henderson page for a small example. The first sentence of the bio reads that Joe is 'proof that jazz can sell' — a reference to Joe's later success at Verve in the mid-90's. In the first sentence of the review for Joe's first Verve album in the 90's, Yanow again states that 'with the release of this CD, the executives at Verve and their marketing staff proved that yes, indeed, jazz can sell.' Thanks, Scott. That was profound. And it really lets me know about the music. Later on, in his review of the Miles Davis tribute album on Verve from the same period, he likes the fact that Henderson picked mostly lesser-known material from Davis' cannon: 'He is to be congratulated for not taking the easy way out and sticking to the simpler material of Davis's earlier years.' Because, really, it's not about how well the material is performed, it's about 'not taking the easy way out.'
»According to Mr. Yanow, Ron Carter's albums as a leader are "for lovers and/or fans of bass solos" (in two different reviews) and that his albums are mainly a showcase for Carter's bass (two separate reviews). Thanks, Scott. Here I was, expecting Ron Carter to be playing extensive banjo solos.
»Also, according to Mr. Yanow, in his review of Bill Evans' 1977 album Affinty, Bill plays "electric piano on this album for the final time in the recording studio." That's just fine, except that he played it again on We Will Meet Again, which was recorded two years later. I guess in Yanow's world, 1979 came before 1977.
»The guy is the reason that there is a stereotype of jazz fans being snobs. With his authoritative stance and broad generalizations passed off as valid criticisms, Scott Yanow is an embarassment to any jazz loving listener.

He sucks.

Grachan Moncur, on the other hand, is delightful.

RIP

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/03/1103013844/grachan-moncur-iii-trailblazing-blue-note-trombonist-dies-at-85

aw man

This is a really beautiful and lonely performance from the 1965 concert mentioned in the article:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt35ob7E_CU

rest well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFwWu1dUPk

"osmosis" (1969)

love this photo:
https://www.radiotopo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/grachan-moncur-iii.png

https://jazztimes.com/archives/grachan-moncur-iii-some-other-stuff/