John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame in the year of their death.
Grachan Moncur III was an American jazz trombonist. He was the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.
Melbourne Robert Cranshaw was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records to his recent involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known for his long association with Sonny Rollins. Cranshaw performed in Rollins's working band on and off for over five decades, starting with a live appearance at the 1959 Playboy jazz festival in Chicago and on record with the 1962 album The Bridge.
Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.
My 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. Musicians featured are trumpeter Donald Byrd, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Grant Green, bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Tony Williams.
The All Seeing Eye is the ninth jazz album by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, recorded on October 15, 1965, and released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4219 and BST 84219 in 1966. The album features performances by Shorter with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, alto saxophonist James Spaulding, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Chambers. Shorter's brother, Alan composed and plays fluegelhorn on the final track, “Mephistopheles”. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "it is clear from the start that the music on this CD reissue is not basic bop and blues... the dramatic selections, and their brand of controlled freedom has plenty of subtle surprises. This is stimulating music that still sounds fresh over three decades later".
Yasmina, a Black Woman is a jazz album by Archie Shepp, recorded in 1969 in Paris for BYG Actuel. It features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The first track, giving its title to the album, is a long free jazz piece by an 11-piece orchestra; in it, the references to Africa that Shepp had experimented with only a few weeks earlier in Algiers are to be found in the use of African percussion instruments, or the African incantations sung by Shepp himself at the beginning of the track. The other two pieces, a homage to Sonny Rollins written by trombonist Grachan Moncur III and a standard, played by a more traditional quintet and quartet respectively, are more reminiscent of the hard bop genre, although the fiery playing of the musicians, notably Shepp himself, gives them a definite avant-garde edge. It was originally issued on CD by Affinity, mastered from an incredibly noisy vinyl source and later reissued by Charly from the original master tapes.
Mama Too Tight is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1967. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, trombonists Grachan Moncur III and Roswell Rudd, tuba player Howard Johnson, clarinetist Perry Robinson, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Beaver Harris in August of 1966.
The Way Ahead is an album by Archie Shepp, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Ron Carter and drummers Roy Haynes and Beaver Harris in January 1968 with two additional tracks featuring baritone saxophonist Charles Davis, pianist Dave Burrell and bassist Walter Booker recorded in February 1969, and first released on Kwanza (1974), added to the CD release.
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.
One Step Beyond is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. This is the first of two albums where McLean replaced the usual pianist with vibraphone player Bobby Hutcherson. As a result, One Step Beyond features a new sound that, while still rooted in hard bop, was more spacious and adventurous than his earlier work and leaned towards post bop and free jazz. The group is rounded out by trombonist Grachan Moncur III, bassist Eddie Khan and drummer Tony Williams.
Destination... Out! is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. It is the second McLean album to feature Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone and Grachan Moncur III on trombone. The rhythm section is completed by bassist Larry Ridley and drummer Roy Haynes.
'Bout Soul is an album by American saxophonist Jackie McLean recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label. It features McLean in a quintet with trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Scotty Holt and drummer Rashied Ali. Trombonist Grachan Moncur III guests on three tracks, and Barbara Simmons recites the words on “Soul”.
Soul Connection is an album by American organist John Patton recorded in 1983 and released on the Nilva label.
Evolution is the debut album led by the American trombonist Grachan Moncur III, recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label. Featuring alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Lee Morgan, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Tony Williams, Evolution is considered a significant contribution to the jazz avant-garde. Two McLean albums also recorded for Blue Note in 1963 featured Moncur and his compositions, and explored the same "inside/outside" musical approach.
Three for Shepp is an album by American saxophonist Marion Brown featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.
Sameer Gupta is a Brooklyn-based jazz percussionist, tabla player, and composer. He is a co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive, the jazz ensemble The Supplicants and drummer for the Marc Cary Focus Trio. He has also worked with vidyA, Kosmic Renaissance, Grachan Moncur III, Victor Goines, Vincent Gardner, Sekou Sundiata, Sonny Simmons, Marcus Shelby, Calvin Keys, Richard Howell, Dayna Stephens, and Julian Lage.
Hipnosis is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean, featuring selections recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1960s, but not released until 1978. The album was released in the US as a two-fer, which included five tracks from a 1967 session, plus six tracks recorded in 1962 later appeared on the CD reissue of Vertigo. In Japan, it was released the same year as a standard LP (ST-83022) with a different cover, featuring only the 1967 tracks.
Presenting... Jackie McLean, also referred to as The New Tradition and Jackie McLean Quintet, is the debut album by American alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, which was recorded in 1955, becoming the first LP released by the Ad Lib label before being reissued on the Jubilee label in 1958. It features McLean in a quintet with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Ron Tucker.
Exploration is an album by trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur III. It was recorded in June 2004, and was released by Capri Records later that year. On the album, Moncur is accompanied by saxophonists Gary Bartz, Gary Smulyan, and Billy Harper, trumpeter Tim Hagans, trombonist Dave Woodley, horn player John Clark, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The music was arranged by Mark Masters. It was Moncur's first album after a lengthy hiatus, during which he wrote, taught, and dealt with dental issues.
