Her singular sound and harmonically rich compositions touched millions.
Musician loved her – one of the few women who mastered jazz trombone. And perhaps without knowing it, music lovers have heard and fallen in love with her sonorous arrangements for bandleaders like Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerald Wilson and her longtime collaborator, pianist Randy Weston. Also, singers as varied as Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell, Gloria Lynn and Abby Lincoln loved the way Melba’s arrangements wrapped around and supported their voices.
Her name was Melba Liston, and in April 1999 at the age of 73, she joined her ancestors.
But oh, the music Melba left behind! If you’d like to hear the feature I produced about Melba’s prodigious talent – and her lifelong struggles – click on the red circle at the top of the following link from NPR’s Jazz Profiles series.
Thankfully, in 2016 Melba’s story is now accessible to a younger generation through the children’s book Little Melba and her Big Trombone by Katherine Russell-Brown, wonderfully illustrated by artist Frank Morrison.
Check out Little Melba if you can, and celebrate Melba Liston!