Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Books | Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Music
Katheryn Russell-Brown
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA) NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) A biography of African American jazz virtuoso Melba Doretta Liston, a pioneering twentieth-century trombone player, composer, and music arranger at a time when few women, of any race, played brass instruments and were part of the jazz scene. Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.
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Author
Katheryn Russell-Brown
Pages
40
Publisher
Lee & Low Books
Published Date
2014
ISBN
1600608981 9781600608988
Community ReviewsSee all
"As a jazz music enthusiast, I love that this is a children's book look at a jazz musician who found her passion at a very young age. From the time Melba set her eyes on a big shiny trombone, she knew this was her life. The older she become, the better she got, and still at a fairly young age of a being a teen she was able to join a jazz band. Overcoming race and gender stereotypes, Melba became a famed trombone player laying the stone work for fellow female musicians like herself in this nonfiction tribute to an unknown her of jazz music. <br/><br/>What I love about this book, is that it's a real-life story but designed for a younger audience. In terms of the classroom, I would love to use this in our multicultural unit, talking about differences that people have, and the struggles they may endure. This is a lovely little gem that I would easily keep in my classroom library, on hand for my students to fall in love with. <br/>"
Brittani Roe