Warren A. Goodson is an artist from Jersey City, New Jersey, who did a series of paintings of jazz artists. A watercolor of Grachan Moncur III graces his website homepage. Warren and I spoke in May. I asked if he ever met Grachan. He has not. Warren is a fan of his music. He said it inspired the painting. Despite the name in giant letters across the bottom, it bears no likeness. Change the name and the painting becomes someone else.
I want Warren to meet Grachan. Look in his eyes. They gleam with talk about his children and wife. Hear his voice. It’s weighted with recollections of his music journey. Hold his hands. They rest in a grasp position. There’s warmth and texture too. Grachan is sound observant. He’s an intense listener with his eyes. The contrast is pronounced because of his quiet demeanor. I’m twice his size but Grachan has a presence that’s grand.
I met with Grachan ‘Butch’ Moncur III, in Newark, New Jersey. That’s how Laurinburg Institute alumni know him. Grachan attended the school four years. He’s the first graduate I met that attended under the leadership of our founders. Grachan remembers Emmanuel Monty McDuffie. He says everyone called him Mr. Chubbs. He also remembers the grandson and current school president, Frank ‘Bishop’ McDuffie Jr. He says he was a little boy in those times. Grachan met Bishop again during a school visit in the 90’s. Grachan proudly says he remembers everything that happened in his life from age three: “That’s how great my life has been.”
Grachan arrived at Laurinburg Institute the year after Sam Jones graduated. He went on to win 10 championships in the National Basketball Association. Grachan was classmates with Sir John Swan. He became Premier of Bermuda and a business and technology stalwart on the island. Grachan’s wife also attended Laurinburg Institute. She graduated from a different school but they were there together. His grandson, Bruce Moncur, attended decades later. Grachan remembers himself as the prince of campus. His trombone attached to him like a limb. Grachan’s best friend Willie Harris, rescued that trombone from a fire at the school. Grachan recalls Willie dashing out the dorm, trombone in hand, just before it collapsed. Willie and Grachan are friends to this day.
I want Warren to meet this Grachan.
Grachan Moncur III the jazz trombonist belongs to the entertainment world. He’s the least celebrated of jazz greats. There’s exhaustive media coverage of this Grachan. His albums resell on Ebay. He has a Wikipedia page. YouTube plays his albums and interviews. The New York Times and jazz publications have covered him since the sixties. None speak of Grachan ‘Butch’ Moncur III. None speak of him in the context of American history or black history.
I want Warren to meet this Grachan.
Grachan was born in Sydenham Hospital in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. This was when Harlem was a cultural metropolis for blacks in art, literature, music, and theater. Sydenham began in a Harlem brownstone in 1892. It mostly served black patients. The hospital moved to West 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in 1924. It was the first to be desegregated and interracial with black staff and trustees. Sydenham was one of the first hospitals in NYC to hire black doctors and nurses. W.C. Handy died there in 1958. Grachan was ensconced in American History at birth – Thursday, June 3, 1937.
His father, Grachan Moncur II, was a popular name in jazz. His uncle Al Cooper was too. His mother was a singer. The Moncur family paid tuition at Laurinburg Institute. Grachan was not a scholarship recipient but accepted many leadership roles with the school band. He graduated then played all over the world with the most and least known jazz greats — Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Bobbie Hutcherson, Frank Lowe, Jackie McClean and Archie Shepp. He worked with other historic figures including James Baldwin. Grachan was one of four in the chariot that carried Sarah Vaughan’s body to the cemetery. His mother was there too. She was best friends with Sarah Vaughan. Grachan became a global ambassador (unpaid) for Laurinburg Institute the moment it appeared next to his name in print. Warren A. Goodson has to meet this Grachan. He must, if he truly “captures what is beyond the physical”, as stated on his web site. Google Images and album covers won’t do.
Grachan has lived 82 years. He’s never experienced blue collar or corporate work. He’s never been a civil servant. He’s lived his entire life through his talent. That’s no small feat given the social climate of the decades Grachan lived. Nothing was lower than black men and women in the United States for 31 years of his life. These were also years Grachan was treated like royalty throughout Europe. He articulates the dichotomy with zeal. Not politics. There’s no anger either. Grachan mostly speaks of maltreatment of other people of color in Europe. He also talked about hitch hiking from Laurinburg to Fayetteville in the 1950s. He spoke of his time at the Julliard School too.
There’s depth and layers to this Grachan. And, he’s one of us – Laurinburg Institute alumni. He still practices. He plays still. He still records. I want Warren A. Goodson to meet Grachan ‘Butch’ Moncur III. He’s sure to paint something more beautiful than originally intended.
Andre Mack is a graduate of the Laurinburg Institute. He is a regular contributor to The Laurinburg Exchange.
