Trombone People Loved It, Because We Were Picking up the Beat' Trombonists in Every Era and Genre - Performers Who (Rogovoy 2001)
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Trombone people loved it, because we were picking up the beat' trombonists in every era and genre - performers who (Rogovoy 2001). Players such as the Dirty Dozen Brass have cumulatively expanded the possibilities for trom- Band's Kirk Joseph have amplified the sousaphone to bone range, sound quality capabilities and performance emulate many characteristics of the electric bass guitar. speed in ways completely unanticipated and unimagin- able in European art music. It is here, in the popular Bibliography sphere, that the trombone has made its most expressive Bevan, Clifford. 1978, The Tuba Family. London; Faber impact as an instrument with unique vocal and emo- and Faber, tional qualities. Rogovoy, Seth, 2001, 'Dirty Dozen Updates New Orleans The 'tailgate' trombone style, critical to the sound of Street-Band Music' Berkshire Eagle (30 November), Dixieland collective improvisation, was developed sub- http;//www.rogovoy,com/150.shtml stantially in the second and third decades of the twenti- Schafer, William J. 1977. Brass Bands and New Orleans eth century by Edward 'Kid' Ovf and Jim Robinson. Jack Jazz. Baton Rouge, LA; Louisiana State University Teagarden, Jimmy Harrison, Vic Dickenson, Benny Press, Morton and Dicky Wells extended the melodic and rhythmic capabilities of the trombone in the 1920s and Discography 1930s in the transition to swing. Band leader trombon- Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The, My Feet Can't Fail Me Now. ists like Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey developed the Concord Jazz 43005. 1984: USA, trombone's role as a lyrical lead instrument with the big ALYN SHIPTON bands. Trombone The timbral range and sound qualities of the trom- The European trombone (German posaune, Old French bone developed substantially in the vocal and muting sacqueboute, Old English sackbut) has existed in similar techniques of Lawrence Brown, Quentin 'Butter' Jack- form since 1551, Over the course of its existence, the son, Britt Woodman, Juan Tizol and Joe 'Tricky Sam' instrument has evolved into five types marked by bore Nanton, all longstanding members of Duke Ellington's and bell sizes; the alto, tenor, symphonic tenor, bass and band and important interpreters of his music. As a solo- contrabass trombone. With the later development of ist in the Count Basie band and other ensembles, Al Grey mechanized brass, the trombone also developed a valve developed the art of the plunger mute to virtuoso stand- variant, consisting of a tenor trombone bell section and ards on the trombone. The whisper and soft-tongue a section with three piston or rotary valves replacing the trombone solo work of Bill Harris while a member of the slide. All forms of the instrument except the valve ver- Woody Herman Herd further developed the instru- sion have been widely used in European art music ment's vocal capabilities. ensembles. Popular music uses are dominated by the The bebop era in jazz produced players with remark- tenor slide and valve trombone, although the bass trom- able tonguing speed, dexterity and ability to play the bone has also developed distinctively in European brass slide using alternate positions, thus overcoming limita- bands and in big band jazz ensembles. tions set by the natural overtone series of the instru- The worldwide spread of brass instruments and brass ment. Bop trombonists, with J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, band music was a direct result of the diffusion and con- Slide Hampton, Kai Winding and Jimmy Knepper solidation of European colonialism, particularly in the among the most recorded and admired, were able to eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This led to the keep up with stylistic developments largely associated presence of the trombone in military, church and other with players of the trumpet and saxophone. The bop era popular ensembles in various parts of Africa, Latin Amer- also produced big band soloists like Carl Fontana, Frank ica and Asia-Pacific. In the years since, numerous fusion, Rosolino, Urbie Green and Phil Wilson, all of whom hybrid and Creole forms of indigenized brass, percussion played in Stan Kenton's groups, and all of whom took and brass, or bamboo and brass music have emerged in the speed and register capabilities of the instrument to these regions. The trombone is part of many of these new heights. musical forms, although, as in the brass bands of Eastern In important avant-garde ensembles, like those of and Western Europe, valve instruments (bass trumpet, Archie Shepp or the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, as well baritone horn, euphonium) appear more often than the as in groups of their own, trombonists Roswell Rudd and slide or valve trombone. Grachan Moncur III restored and expanded many In the New World, the continuous and increasingly Dixieland and swing techniques in the new free jazz popular presence of the trombone in instrumental music trombone vocabulary of the 1960s and 1970s, Albert is largely due to its role in jazz from the beginning of Mangelsdorff developed the trombone's capability as a the twentieth century. Jazz has produced distinctive multiphonic instrument during the same period, mas- 463 15. Wind Instruments: Brass and Horns tering the technique of singing and playing notes simul- the 1980s New York Latin jazz during the same time, in taneously. These approaches were developed and bands like Manny Oquendo's Conjunto Libre and Jerry extended by George Lewis and Ray Anderson in the Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band. Turre went on to develop ensembles of Anthony Braxton and in other groups. a style fusing Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and bebop jazz Other often-recorded consolidators of this avant-garde forms featuring a combination ensemble of trombones jazz trombone legacy include Craig Harris and Frank and conch shells. The legacy of this trombone-rich New Lacy. York Puerto Rican-Cuban salsa sound crossed over into In addition to the trombone's success in every style mainstream pop in the late 1980s when it was incorpor- and variety of jazz, the distinctiveness of a vernacular ated into projects by David Byrne and Talking Heads. trombone voice developed in other African-American Trombones were rarely heard in rock music during its instrumental genres. Harlem's McCullough Sons of formative years. By the late 1960s, some rock and electric Thunder, an ensemble consisting of 10 trombones plus blues bands regularly or occasionally augmented the sousaphone and percussion, provides an example of the core band with a horn section consisting of trumpet, instrument's use in contemporary gospel music. Another trombone and saxophone. Well-known examples, where example of the distinctiveness of a vernacular trombone the trombone contributed distinctively, include voice is provided through the role of the trombone in Chicago, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Blood, Sweat the New Orleans brass band tradition. This role has and Tears, the Buddy Miles Express, Dreams, the Average developed continuously and is well represented in con- White Band and Roomful of Blues. temporary performance and recording by the Rebirth In soul and funk, the trombone had a major presence Brass Band, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Dejeans in the horn section of James Brown's classic bands. By Olympia Brass Band. The most recent innovation in the the early 1970s, trombonist Fred Wesley was featured New Orleans trombone tradition is the band Coolbone both as a key soloist and as the arranger and leader of and its style, known as brass-hop, a fusion of hip-hop Brown's instrumental backup ensemble, the JBs. Wesley and vocal rap backed by a trombone-led horn section later played with other members of the JBs (Maceo playing funk and New Orleans brass band riffs. Parker and Pee Wee Ellis), and with Bootsy Collins and Distinctive creolized styles of New World African- George Clinton, in Parliament and Funkadelic. The Latin trombone playing also developed in dialog with trombone was also represented in forms of avant-garde jazz, rhythm and blues, and indigenous genres in the and jazz-influenced rock by Bruce Fowler's work in some Caribbean. Among the most popular examples is of Frank Zappa's 1970s and 1980s ensembles. Jamaican ska, whose best-known trombonists, Don Drummond and Rico Rodriguez, both performed with Discography the prolific Skatalites. Distinctive styles of playing also Anderson, Ray. Big Band Record. Gramavision R2 79497. developed in Cuba, especially with Generoso 'Tojo' 1994: USA. Jimenez and Juan Pablo Torres, and in Brazil, with Raul Brown, James. Doing it to Death: The ]B Story 1970-73. de Souza. Polydor 422-821232-2. 1984: UK. Although Latin trombone influence was introduced by Byrne, David. Rei Momo. Luaka Bop/Sire 25990-2. 1989: Juan Tizol in Duke Ellington's band, trombones contrib- USA. uted most distinctively to the Afro-Latin jazz fusion Colon, Willie. Salsa's Bad Boy. Caliente CD Charly 238. sound that developed in New York City in the 1940s and 1990: UK. 1950s, particularly under the guidance of big band Coolbone. Brass-Hop. Hollywood HR 62066-2. 1997: arranger-leaders like Dizzy Gillespie, Chico O'Farrell, USA. Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Beny (sometimes spelled Drummond, Don. Don Drummond, Greatest Hits. Treasure 'Benny') More. Trombonist Barry Rogers played a prom- Isle TICD 004. 1989: USA. inent role in the emergence of Eddie Palmieri's New York Frozen Brass: Africa and Latin America. PAN 2026CD. brass and percussion small group salsa sound in the 1993: The Netherlands. 1960s, a role developed further in the 1990s by Conrad Frozen Brass: Asia. PAN 2020CD. 1993: The Netherlands. Herwig. In the 1970s, New York Puerto Rican trombonist Herwig, Conrad. The Latin Side of John Coltrane. Astor and band leader Willie Colon developed the three- Place TCD 4003. 1996: USA. trombone sound in the fusion of Puerto Rican and Ifi Palasa: Tongan Brass. PAN 2044CD.