Grachan Moncur III
Encyclopedia
Grachan Moncur III is an American
jazz
trombonist who has mostly played free jazz
, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist
Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper
.
and raised in Newark, New Jersey
, Moncur began playing the cello
at age nine, and switched to the trombone
at eleven. In high school he attended the Laurinburg Institute
in North Carolina
, the private school where Dizzy Gillespie
had studied. While still in school he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, such as Art Blakey
and Jackie McLean
, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.
After high school he toured with Ray Charles
(1959–1962), Art Farmer
's and Benny Golson
's Jazztet (1962), and Sonny Rollins
. He took part in two classic Jackie McLean
albums in the early 1960s, One Step Beyond and Destination Out, to which he also contributed the bulk of compositions and which led to two influential albums of his own for Blue Note Records
, Evolution (1963) with Jackie McLean
and Lee Morgan
, and Some Other Stuff (1964) 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
(the other big name in free jazz
trombone). During a stay in Paris in the summer of 1969, he recorded two albums as a leader for the famous BYG Actuel
label, New Africa and Aco Dei de Madrugada, as well as appearing as a sideman on numerous other releases of the label. In 1974, the Jazz Composer's Orchestra
commissioned him to write Echoes of Prayer (1974), a jazz symphony featuring a full orchestra plus vocalists and jazz soloists. His sixth album as a leader, Shadows (1977) was released only in Japan. Unfortunately, he was subsequently plagued by health problems and copyright disputes and recorded only rarely. Through the 1980s he recorded with Cassandra Wilson
(1985), played occasionally with the Paris Reunion Band and Frank Lowe
, appeared on John Patton
's Soul Connection (1983), but mostly concentrated on teaching. In 2004 he re-emerged with a new album (Exploration) on Capri Records featuring Grachan's compositions arranged by Mark Masters
for an octet
including Tim Hagans
and Gary Bartz
.
:
with Dave Burrell
:
with The Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet:
with Benny Golson
:
with Herbie Hancock
:
with Beaver Harris
:
with Joe Henderson
:
with Khan Jamal:
with Frank Lowe
:
with Jackie McLean
:
with Lee Morgan
:
with Butch Morris
:
with Sunny Murray
:
with Sunny Murray
, Khan Jamal and Romulus:
with Paris Reunion Band:
with William Parker
:
with John Patton
:
with The Reunion Legacy Band:
with Roswell Rudd
and Archie Shepp
:
with Archie Shepp
:
with Wayne Shorter
:
with Alan Silva
:
with Clifford Thornton
:
with Chris White
:
with Cassandra Wilson
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trombonist who has mostly played free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper
Al Cooper
Al Cooper wasa saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader.He founded the Savoy Sultans and was their leader from 1937 to 1946.He also played at the 101 Club on Lenox Avenue in New York andother places.- Al Cooper - 1938-1941 CD :...
.
Biography
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and raised in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, Moncur began playing the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
at age nine, and switched to the trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
at eleven. In high school he attended the Laurinburg Institute
Laurinburg Institute
Laurinburg Institute is a traditionally black preparatory school in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The school was started in 1904 by Emmanuel Monty and Tinny McDuffie at the request of Booker T. Washington....
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, the private school where Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
had studied. While still in school he began sitting in with touring jazz musicians on their way through town, such as Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
and Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.
After high school he toured with Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
(1959–1962), Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
's and Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
's Jazztet (1962), and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
. He took part in two classic Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
albums in the early 1960s, One Step Beyond and Destination Out, to which he also contributed the bulk of compositions and which led to two influential albums of his own for Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
, Evolution (1963) with Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
and Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
, and Some Other Stuff (1964) with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
.
Moncur joined Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
's ensemble and recorded with other avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
players such as Marion Brown
Marion Brown
Marion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
, Beaver Harris
Beaver Harris
William Godvin "Beaver" Harris was an American jazz drummer, who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.-Biography:...
and Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
(the other big name in free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
trombone). During a stay in Paris in the summer of 1969, he recorded two albums as a leader for the famous BYG Actuel
BYG Actuel
BYG Actuel was a French record label specializing in free jazz. The label also released a small number of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.-History:...
label, New Africa and Aco Dei de Madrugada, as well as appearing as a sideman on numerous other releases of the label. In 1974, the Jazz Composer's Orchestra
Jazz Composer's Orchestra
Jazz Composer's Orchestra was an American jazz group founded in 1965, to further avant-garde jazz in New York. Carla Bley and Michael Mantler were important in its organization and style....
commissioned him to write Echoes of Prayer (1974), a jazz symphony featuring a full orchestra plus vocalists and jazz soloists. His sixth album as a leader, Shadows (1977) was released only in Japan. Unfortunately, he was subsequently plagued by health problems and copyright disputes and recorded only rarely. Through the 1980s he recorded with Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
(1985), played occasionally with the Paris Reunion Band and Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.Born and brought up in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone and then moved to San Francisco...
, appeared on John Patton
John Patton (musician)
John Patton , sometimes nicknamed Big John Patton, was a hard bop and soul jazz organist....
's Soul Connection (1983), but mostly concentrated on teaching. In 2004 he re-emerged with a new album (Exploration) on Capri Records featuring Grachan's compositions arranged by Mark Masters
Mark Masters
Mark Masters is the president and CEO of Talk Radio Network and its subsidiaries.-References:...
for an octet
Octet (music)
In music, an octet is a musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.-Octets in classical music:Octets in classical music are one of the largest groupings of chamber music...
including Tim Hagans
Tim Hagans
Tim Hagans is a jazz trumpeter and composer.He has been nominated for Grammys for Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" from The Avatar Session ; and Best Contemporary Jazz CD for Animation*Imagination and Re-Animation .He grew up in Dayton, Ohio...
and Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz
Gary Bartz is an American alto and soprano saxophonist and clarinetist.Bartz graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and The Juilliard School...
.
As a leader
- EvolutionEvolution (Grachan Moncur III album)Evolution is the debut album by American trombonist Grachan Moncur III recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "With such an inventive debut, it's a shame Moncur didn't record more as a leader, which...
(Blue Note, 1963) - Some Other StuffSome Other StuffSome Other Stuff is the second album by American trombonist Grachan Moncur III recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label in 1965. It was remastered by Rudy Van Gelder in 2008 and reissued on CD.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1964) - New Africa (BYG Actuel, 1969)
- Aco Dei de Madrugada (One Morning I Waked Up Very Early) (BYG Actuel, 1969)
- Echoes of Prayer (JCOA, 1974)
- Shadows (Denon, 1977)
- Exploration (Capri, 2004)
- Inner Cry Blues (Lunar Module, 2007)
As a sideman
with Marion BrownMarion Brown
Marion Brown was a jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avant-garde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai...
:
- Juba-Lee (Fontana, 1966)
- Three for SheppThree for SheppThree for Shepp is the debut album by American saxophonist Marion Brown featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1967)
with Dave Burrell
Dave Burrell
Davis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
:
- EchoEcho (Dave Burrell album)Echo is a studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. It was recorded on August 13, 1969 and first released as an LP album by BYG Actuel...
(BYG Actuel, 1969) - La Vie de BohèmeLa Vie de Bohème (album)La Vie de Bohème is a studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. The album is Burrell's take on the operatic adaptation of La Vie de Bohème by Giacomo Puccini, titled La bohème...
(BYG Actuel, 1970)
with The Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet:
- Here and Now (Mercury, 1962)
- Another Git Together (Mercury, 1962)
with Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
:
- Pop + Jazz = Swing (Audio Fidelity, 1962)
- Stockholm Sojourn (Prestige, 1965)
- Just Jazz (Audio Fidelity, 1965)
with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
:
- My Point of ViewMy Point of ViewMy Point of View is the second album by pianist Herbie Hancock. It was released in 1963 on Blue Note Records as BLP 4126 and BST 84126.-Track listing:All compositions by Herbie Hancock.#"Blind Man, Blind Man" – 8:19#"A Tribute to Someone" – 8:45...
(Blue Note, 1963)
with Beaver Harris
Beaver Harris
William Godvin "Beaver" Harris was an American jazz drummer, who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.-Biography:...
:
- Safe (Red, 1979)
- Beautiful Africa (Soul Note, 1979)
- Live at Nyon (Cadence Jazz, 1981)
with Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
:
- The KickerThe KickerThe Kicker is the first album by jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson released on the Milestone label. It was recorded on August 10, 1967 with one track coming from a later session on September 27 and features performances by Henderson with Mike Lawrence, Grachan Moncur III, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter and...
(Milestone, 1967)
with Khan Jamal:
- Black Awareness (CIMP, 2005)
with Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe
Frank Lowe was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer.Born and brought up in Memphis, Tennessee, Lowe took up the tenor saxophone and then moved to San Francisco...
:
- Decision in Paradise (Soul Note, 1985)
with Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, born in New York City.-Biography:McLean's father, John Sr., played guitar in Tiny Bradshaw's orchestra...
:
- One Step BeyondOne Step Beyond (Jackie McLean album)One Step Beyond is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. The CD contains one alternate take as a bonus track.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1963) - Destination... Out!Destination... Out!Destination... Out! is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars and stated "Of all of McLean's Blue Note dates, so many of which are classic jazz recordings, Destination...
(Blue Note, 1964) - 'Bout Soul'Bout SoulBout Soul is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars and stated "This is intensely cerebral music that is nevertheless played with a fiery passion....
(Blue Note, 1967) - Hipnosis (Blue Note, 1978)
with Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan was an American hard bop trumpeter.-Biography:...
:
- The Last SessionThe Last Session (album)The Last Session is the final studio album recorded by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan before his death in 1972. It was released on the Blue Note label and features performances by Morgan, Grachan Moncur III, Bobbi Humphrey, Billy Harper, Harold Mabern, Reggie Workman, Jymie Merritt and Freddie...
(Blue Note, 1971)
with Butch Morris
Butch Morris
Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris is an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor.-Biography:Before his musical career, Morris served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War....
:
- In Touch... but out of Reach (Kharma, 1982)
with Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
:
- Hommage to Africa (BYG Actuel, 1969)
with Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
, Khan Jamal and Romulus:
- Change of the Century Orchestra (JAS, 1999)
with Paris Reunion Band:
- For Klook (Gazell, 1987)
with William Parker
William Parker (musician)
William Parker is an American free jazz double bassist, poet and composer.-Biography:Parker was not formally trained as a classical player, though he did study with Jimmy Garrison, Richard Davis, and Wilbur Ware and learned the tradition. Parker is one of few jazz bassists who regularly plays arco...
:
- In Order to Survive (Black Saint, 1995)
with John Patton
John Patton (musician)
John Patton , sometimes nicknamed Big John Patton, was a hard bop and soul jazz organist....
:
- Soul ConnectionSoul ConnectionSoul Connection is an album by American organist John Patton recorded in 1983 and released on the Nilva label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "It is the lost gem in his catalog and showcases him in one of the most provocative quintets in his...
(Nilva, 1983)
with The Reunion Legacy Band:
- The Legacy (Early Bird, 1991)
with Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd
Roswell Rudd is a Grammy Award-nominated American jazz trombonist and composer....
and Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
:
- Live in New York (Verve, 2001)
with Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
:
- Mama Too TightMama Too TightMama Too Tight is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1966. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, Tommy Turrentine, Grachan Moncur III, Roswell Rudd, Howard Johnson, Perry Robinson, Charlie Haden and Beaver Harris in August 1966. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states...
(Impulse!, 1966) - The Way AheadThe Way AheadThe Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S., an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.The film was...
(Impulse!, 1968) - Poem for MalcolmPoem for MalcolmPoem for Malcolm is a jazz album by Archie Shepp. Recorded only two days after Yasmina, a Black Woman, it again features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. This time, the tone is resolutely set to avant garde and free jazz, with a political edge in the all but explicit tribute to Malcolm X...
(BYG Actuel, 1969) - For LosersFor LosersFor Losers is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! in 1970. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with three different ensembles...
(Impulse!, 1970) - Things Have Got to ChangeThings Have Got to ChangeThings Have Got to Change is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released in 1971 on the Impulse! label. The album features performance by Shepp with a large ensemble and vocal choir...
(Impulse!, 1971) - Live at the Pan-African FestivalLive at the Pan-African FestivalLive at the Pan-African Festival is a live recording of Archie Shepp's performance in Algiers on July 29–30, 1969, when his free jazz band was complemented by a section of traditional North-African musicians.-Track listing:All songs arranged by Shepp....
(BYG Actuel, 1971) - Life at the Donaueschingen Festival (MPS, 1972)
- KwanzaKwanza (album)Kwanza is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! in 1974. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with four different ensembles...
(Impulse!, 1974) - Freedom (JMY, 1991)
with Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
:
- The All Seeing EyeThe All Seeing EyeThe All Seeing Eye is a jazz album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter recorded on October 15, 1965 and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4219 and BST 84219. The album features performances by Shorter with Freddie Hubbard, Grachan Moncur III, James Spaulding, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Joe...
(Blue Note, 1965)
with Alan Silva
Alan Silva
Alan Silva is an American free jazz double bassist and keyboard player.-Biography:...
:
- Luna Surface (BYG Actuel, 1969)
with Clifford Thornton
Clifford Thornton
Clifford Thornton was an American free jazz trumpeter and trombonist. Born in Philadelphia in 1939, he studied with trumpeter Donald Byrd in the mid-1950s and worked with various players such as tuba player Ray Draper. After a stint in the army, Thornton moved to New York City...
:
- Ketchaoua (BYG Actuel, 1969)
with Chris White
Chris White (bassist)
Chris White is an American jazz bassist.White was an occasional member of Cecil Taylor's band in the 1950s, credited on the 1959 Love for Sale album...
:
- The Chris White Project (Muse, 1993)
with Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
:
- Point of View (JMT, 1986)
External links
- http://www.grachanmoncur.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/grachanmoncur
- http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zjmq
- http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16929