Grachan Moncur III | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1937-06-03)June 3, 1937 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 2022(2022-06-03) (aged 85) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz,free jazz,avant-garde jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Trombone |
| Years active | 1959–2022 |
Grachan Moncur III (June 3, 1937 – June 3, 2022)[1][2] was an Americanjazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassistGrachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonistAl Cooper.
Born inNew York City, United States,[1] (his paternal grandfather was from theBahamas)[3] and raised inNewark, New Jersey, Grachan Moncur III began playing thecello at the age of nine, and switched to thetrombone when he was 11.[3] In high school, he attended theLaurinburg Institute inNorth Carolina, the private school whereDizzy Gillespie had studied. While still at school, he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, includingArt Blakey andJackie McLean, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.
After high school, Moncur toured withRay Charles (1959–62),Art Farmer andBenny Golson'sJazztet (1962), andSonny Rollins.[1] He took part in twoJackie McLean albums forBlue Note in 1963,One Step Beyond andDestination... Out!, to which he also contributed the bulk of compositions. He recorded two albums of his own for Blue Note,Evolution (1963) with Jackie McLean andLee Morgan, andSome Other Stuff (1964) withHerbie Hancock andWayne Shorter.
Moncur joinedArchie Shepp's ensemble,[1] and recorded with otheravant-garde players such asMarion Brown,Beaver Harris andRoswell Rudd (anotherfree jazz trombonist). During a stay in Paris in the summer of 1969, he recorded two albums as a leader for theBYG Actuel label,New Africa andAco Dei de Madrugada, as well as appearing as a sideman on other releases of the label. In 1974, theJazz Composer's Orchestra commissioned him to writeEchoes of Prayer (1974), a jazz symphony featuring a full orchestra plus vocalists and jazz soloists.[1] His sixth album as a leader,Shadows (1977) was released only in Japan. He was subsequently plagued by health problems and copyright disputes and recorded only rarely. Through the 1980s, he recorded withCassandra Wilson (1985), played occasionally with the Paris Reunion Band andFrank Lowe, appeared onBig John Patton'sSoul Connection (1983), but mostly concentrated on teaching. In 2004, he re-emerged with a new album,Exploration, onCapri Records featuring Moncur's compositions arranged byMark Masters for anoctet includingTim Hagans andGary Bartz.
Moncur died fromcardiac arrest on June 3, 2022, his 85th birthday, at his home inNewark, New Jersey.[2]
withMarion Brown:
withDave Burrell:
withBenny Golson:
withHerbie Hancock:
withBeaver Harris:
withJoe Henderson:
withKhan Jamal:
withFrank Lowe:
withJackie McLean:
withLee Morgan:
withButch Morris:
withSunny Murray:
withSunny Murray,Khan Jamal andRomulus:
withParis Reunion Band:
withWilliam Parker:
withJohn Patton:
withArchie Shepp:
with Archie Shepp andRoswell Rudd:
withWayne Shorter:
withAlan Silva:
withClifford Thornton:
withChris White:
withCassandra Wilson:
