Iridium April 2006 - Grachan Moncur III

By Andrey Henkin ~ Posted: 2006-05-04

Trombonist Grachan Moncur III’s comeback to regular performance over the last five years has been both intermittent and inconsistent. Given his reputation, some of his appearances have been frankly underwhelming. Not the case at Iridium last month (Apr. 9th). Moncur made the wise decision to surround himself with dynamic players so that all the energy did not have to flow directly from him. Joining Moncur’s regular band of Noriko Kano (keys), Calvin Hill (bass) and Richard Pearson (drums) was the vibrant trio of Billy Harper (tenor), Michael Blake (alto) and John Hicks (piano). The textures of the heads were similar to Moncur’s landmark album Evolution, with tenor subbing for trumpet. Harper’s presence was strongly felt throughout the performance, the underappreciated player taking the evening’s longest solos and spurring on the rest of the band with his infectious spirit. Blake’s alto was tentative in spots but was a mellow contrast to Harper. Moncur though delighted with fully formed and executed statements, seemingly focused on his playing and not the mouth problems that have plagued him before. Also remarkable were the funk backbeats that Pearson laid down to “Blue Rondo” (dedicated to the late Jackie McLean) and “Hipnosis”, completely changing the feel of each. Hicks and Kano also flowed well together, the former sticking to chunky chords and the latter using a marimba sound on her keyboard and generally playing that role.a freely shifting dynamic.

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