After appearing on Jackie McLean’s forwarding-thinking albums One Step Beyond and Destination… Out! in 1963, trombonist Grachan Moncur III made his own riveting inside-out debut later that year with Evolution. When he returned to Van Gelder Studio the next year to record the follow-up, Moncur had ventured even deeper into experimental waters. Some Other Stuff was boldly avant-garde and found the trombonist with a cohort of fellow explorers including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Tony Williams. The set of Moncur originals consisted of four expansive pieces including the freeform opener “Gnostic,” the slyly swinging “Thandiwa,” the playfully rhythmic “The Twins,” a portrait of his twin brothers, and the drum feature “Nomadic,” a showcase for Williams’ prodigious talents.

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Tracklist:
A1: Gnostic
A2: Thandiwa
B1: The Twins
B2: Nomadic