June 26, 2012

Grachan Moncur III: Some Other Stuff.


Today I received one of the most elusive Blue Note records to add to my collection.

 Not an original pressing, but the 1970 United Artist pressing, it does have stellar sound over it's digitally compressed CD counterparts for sure.

 Wayne Shorter's saxophone tone is so warm I almost want to cuddle up next to the speakers.

Grachan Moncur III, an acquired taste to say the least, and both of his Blue Note sessions, Some Other Stuff and Evolution were very unusual for the label.

 I can only think of a handful of Blue Notes that were this avant-garde, Dolphy's Out to Lunch, Cecil Taylor's Conquistador and Unit Structures come to mind, and a few of Andrew Hill's records perhaps?

I would consider Some Other Stuff to be a sort of chamber jazz, with an unusual pace. The music is very deliberate and well composed.

 It is interesting to note, this recording was made right before Wayne Shorter joined Miles Davis to complete the second great quintet, Though these are all Moncur compositions.

 Wayne really digs into this music, and this music sounds nothing like Art Blakey at all. Also Tony Williams on drums, and Herbie Hancock on Piano, join Cecil McBee on bass.

 Moncur to my count has only released 8 sessions as a leader, all of them Advanced Post Bop with his signature off-kilter composition style.  If you have an open mind, and don't mind some weird time signatures and strange melodies, Moncur is worth a listen.

My first exposure to this artist was through the inaugural Mosaic Select 3 CD Box set series, This session for some reason sonically just seemed to compressed for my tastes on that set, A lot of distortion on the horns as well, I couldn't stand to hear it with headphones.

With this vinyl copy, the sound stage is much more natural, and as mentioned, the horns are definitely warmer and ring truer.

Check out Some Other Stuff for yourself.



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