Grachan Moncur III - The Intellect

Grachan Moncur, III—‘The Intellect’

Grachan Moncur, III: trombone
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone
Cecil McBee: bass
Beavre Harris: drums (Credited as ‘Bill Harris’)

Performance recorded live at The Village Gate, New York City on March 28, 1965 at a benefit concert for the newly-founded Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School (BART/S), held at the Village Gate under the title ‘New Black Music’, on Sunday Mar 28th 1965. The concert featured performances by the groups of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, and Charles Tolliver. One track per group was included on the original Impulse! Records release, titled ‘The New Wave in Jazz’, with the exception of performances by Sun Ra and Betty Carter. (It’s unclear if Cecil Taylor performed as advertised.) Written by Moncur, ‘The Intellect’ was first released on the Impulse double LP ‘The New Breed: The Dedication Series Vol. VIII: ecil Taylor/Charles Tolliver/Grachan Moncur/Archie Shepp’ (1978), and then included as a bonus track on the 1994 CD reissue, now itself out of print. It represents a significant extension of Moncur’s recorded work, in the wake of his ground-breaking collaborations with Jackie McLean and his own recordings as a leader, ‘Evolution’ and ‘Some Other Stuff’ (the latter of which was developed while Moncur was working in the premiere production of James Baldwin’s play ‘Blues for Mister Charlie’). To my knowledge, no other recordings of this and the other piece performed on the night, ‘Blue Free’, exist; as such, the combined tracks, recorded in impeccable sound, represent almost a lost album. We might see it as representing the ultimate stage of the ‘introverted’ tendency in Moncur’s playing represented, say, by the piece ‘Gnostic’ on ‘Some Other Stuff’: a hidden knowledge found deep inside the self through a press of isolation and contemplation, a defensive retreat into the self that is also a social affirmation of what it takes to survive in tight spaces and what expansive resources can be found there. (Moncur would soon go on to play with Archie Shepp, to co-found the 360 Degree Music Experience with Dave Burrell and Beaver Harris, and to record ‘New Africa’ on BYG records in 1969.)

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From the original liner notes:

“Grachan Moncur represents, along with Charles Tolliver’s group, the cool aspect of the new generation. The post-milesian cool. The vibist, Bobby Hutcherson, makes this stance thoughtful and challenging, as does, say, a drummer like Tony Williams or bassist Cecil McBee, who can stretch out even further.

These musicians change what is given and hopefully understood. What the normal feeling of adventure is. You think hard-bop to cool soft bop. But there is a persistent will to be original that sheds these labels effortlessly. These are men [...] who show you the music is changing before yr very ears.” (Amiri Baraka)

“[...] The lands of Dada-Surreal a la Harlem, South Philly and dark Georgia nights after sundown, night-time Mau Mau attacks, shadowy figures out of flying saucers and music of the spheres [...] This music, even though it speaks of horrible and frightening things, speaks at the same time so perfectly about the heart and to the heart. This music, at the same time it contains pain and anger and hope, contains a vision of a better world yet beyond the present and is some of the most beautiful ever to come out of men’s soul or out of that form of expression called Jazz.”

(Steve Young (Music-Art Co-ordinator at BART/S))