Written by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Lee & Low Books, 2014
Melba Liston
(1926 – 1999)
Spread the word! Little Melba Doretta Liston was something special.
From the time she was a little girl, Melba loved music. At the age of seven, she got the chance to sign up for a music class at school and she picked out the trombone because she thought it was beautiful. Her grandpa helped her learn how to play it, especially how to work the long slide. But she picked it up quickly and was invited to play a solo on the radio just a year later. Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1937 and Melba did so well on her test scores that the school moved her from 6th to 8th grade. She joined the music club, where she played in their band. When she was 17, she was invited to tour with a jazz band led by Gerald Wilson. She wrote and arranged her own music and was a real crowd pleaser. Some of the men in the band treated her badly and when the band went South, she faced discrimination and racism. She got discouraged and nearly quit, but she was too popular in the jazz scene and all the best musicians wanted her to play with them. She traveled the world performing on her trombone and was truly someone special.
Melba Liston’s career reads like a mind-boggling who’s who of the big band and jazz eras. She played with Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Art Blakey, Quincy Jones and Billy Eckstine. She did take a break from playing when she got discouraged by the difficulties of touring and during that time, she taught for a while, did some clerical work and was even a background extra in some movies, including The Ten Commandments. She was very highly respected within the jazz community as an arranger and she collaborated with Randy Weston on the groundbreaking album Uhuru Afrika, blending African music with jazz orchestrations. She kept on playing until a stroke sidelined her in 1985, after which she continued to arrange music until her health declined.
Play it, Melba!
This is the debut picture book from author Katheryn Russell-Brown and she was inspired to write it after hearing a radio broadcast about Melba. Notes in the back include more information about Melba and the rest of her musical career, a discography and a list of sources for further reading. The oil painting illustrations from artist Frank Morrison offer a lot of great perspectives into Melba’s life and are wonderfully detailed, with warm colors that match the book’s mood. The story and pictures combine to give you a very clear understanding of Melba’s love of playing the trombone and why she kept going, even when it got difficult for her on the road. I’ll bet you’ve heard and appreciated something she contributed to, even if you don’t know it.
And what did we learn from her? What she teaches me is that if you find a talent for something that you love, never let anyone stop you from sharing it with the world.
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