#i WISH i'd learned about melba liston in college she deserves for asshole music majors to learn about her

[sigmastolen]

Insomnia | Melba Liston Melba Liston, Frank Rehak - trombones; Marty Flax - bari sax; Walter Davis Jr. - piano; Nelson Boyd - bass; Charlie Persip - drums

i am disappointed but not surprised that it took a picture book for a black history month storytime, little melba and her big trombone by katheryn russell-brown and frank morrison, for me to learn about melba liston, who was a trombone prodigy, a world-class composer and arranger, and a pioneer for women of any race in jazz and in brass.  she started to play professionally at sixteen, toured with gerald wilson, dizzy gillespie, billie holiday, and quincy jones, and composed and arranged for pretty much everyone you’ve ever heard of.  anyway, surprise, surprise, it’s kind of difficult to find good information on her and especially on her original compositions, but insomnia is one of them and i am all about it.  i just ordered the album it’s on, melba liston and her ’bones, from amazon, so hopefully when it arrives i can learn a little more from the liner notes.