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Melba Liston

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Melba Liston
Liston in 1960
Liston in 1960
Background information
Birth nameMelba Doretta Liston
Born(1926-01-13)January 13, 1926
Kansas City, Missouri,U.S.
DiedApril 23, 1999(1999-04-23)(aged 73)
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, music educator
InstrumentTrombone
Years active1940s–1970s

Melba Doretta Liston(January 13, 1926 – April 23, 1999)[1]was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all-female bands, she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as anarranger,[2]particularly in partnership with pianistRandy Weston.[3][4]Other major artists with whom she worked includeDizzy Gillespie,Billie Holiday,John Coltrane,andCount Basie.[5]

Biography

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Early life and education

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Liston was born inKansas City, Missouri.[1]At the age of seven, Liston's mother purchased her a trombone and she began learning to play. Her family encouraged her musical pursuits, as they were all music lovers.[6]Liston was primarily self-taught, but she was "encouraged by her guitar-playing grandfather", with whom she spent significant time learning to play spirituals and folk songs.[7]At the age of eight, she was good enough to be a solo act on a local radio station.[8]At the age of 10, she moved toLos Angeles, California.She was classmates withDexter Gordon,and friends withEric Dolphy.[7]After playing in youth bands and studying withAlma Hightowerfor three years, she decided to become a professional musician and joined the big band led byGerald Wilsonin 1943.[9]

Career

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Liston joined the Musicians Union (Local 474, the Colored Musicians Union) at the age of 16 in order to accept her first professional job with theLincoln Theaterpit band.[10]She and Dexter Gordon began playing music together at the ages of fourteen and seventeen, respectively, and she recorded withGordonin 1947. When Wilson disbanded his orchestra in 1948, Liston joinedDizzy Gillespie's big band in New York,[9]which included saxophonistsJohn Coltrane,Paul Gonsalves,and pianistJohn Lewis,after being sought out personally by the bandleader for her talents as both a trombonist and as an arranger.[11]Liston performed in a supporting role and was nervous when asked to take solos, but with encouragement she became more comfortable as a featured voice in bands,[3]though it was her innovative jazz arrangements that legitimized her presence in a very male-dominated environment.[11]She toured withCount Basie,then withBillie Holiday(1949) but was so profoundly affected by the indifference of the audiences and the rigors of the road that she gave up playing and turned to education. Liston taught for about three years.

She took a clerical job for some years and supplemented her income by taking work as an extra in Hollywood, appearing withLana TurnerinThe Prodigal(1955)[12]and inThe Ten Commandments(1956). Liston returned to Gillespie for tours sponsored by theU.S. State Departmentin 1956 and 1957, recorded withArt Blakey'sJazz Messengers(1957), and formed an all-women quintet in 1958. In 1959, she visited Europe with the showFree and Easy,for whichQuincy Joneswas the music director. She accompaniedBilly Eckstinewith the Quincy Jones Orchestra onAt Basin Street East,released on October 1, 1961, by Verve.

In the late 1950s, she began collaborating with pianistRandy Weston,[13]arranging compositions (primarily his own) for mid-size to large ensembles. This association, especially strong in the 1960s, would be rekindled in the late 1980s and 1990s until her death. In addition, she worked withMilt Jackson,Clark Terry,andJohnny Griffin,as well as working as an arranger forMotown,appearing on albums byRay Charles.In 1964, she helped establish the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra.[14]In 1971 she was chosen as musical arranger forStaxrecording artist Calvin Scott, whose album was being produced byStevie Wonder's first producer,Clarence Paul.On this album she worked withJoe SampleandWilton Felderof the Jazz Crusaders, blues guitaristArthur Adams,and jazz drummerPaul Humphrey.She worked with youth orchestras in Watts, California before accepting an invitation from the Government of Jamaica in 1973 to become the Director of Afro-American Pop and Jazz at the Jamaica School of Music.[15]She returned to the U.S. in 1979 where she was honored at the first Women's Jazz Festival in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Salute to Women in Jazz in New York, later forming a new band, Melba Liston and Company.[15]

During her time in Jamaica, she composed and arranged music for the 1975 comedy filmSmile Orange,[16]starringCarl Bradshaw,who three years earlier starred in the first Jamaican film,The Harder They Come(1972). She also served as composer, arranger, and musical director ofThe Dread Mikado,a theater production considered emblematic of the Jamaican cultural revolution.[17]

She was forced to give up playing in 1985 after a stroke left her partially paralyzed,[9]but she continued to arrange music with Randy Weston. In 1987, she was awarded aJazz Masters Fellowshipfrom theNational Endowment for the Arts.[18]

Death

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After suffering repeated strokes, Liston died in Los Angeles, California on April 23, 1999,[19]a few days after a tribute to her and Randy Weston's music atHarvard University.Her funeral atSt. Peter'sinManhattanfeatured performances by Weston with Jann Parker, as well as byChico O'Farrill's Afro-Cuban ensemble and by Lorenzo Shihab (vocals).[citation needed]

Composing and arranging

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Liston was already writing and arranging music while in high school and she viewed that work as the central contribution of her career, stating on numerous occasions throughout her life that she preferred writing music to playing and soloing.[15]

Her early work with the high-profile bands of Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie shows a strong command of the big-band and bop idioms. She worked as an arranger for numerous recording companies, especiallyMotown,and arranged scores for dozens of high profile musicians, includingClark Terry,Marvin Gaye,Mary Lou Williams,andGloria Lynne.

However, perhaps her most important work was written for Randy Weston, with whom she collaborated on and off for four decades from the late 1950s into the 1990.[13]Her work with Weston has been compared to the collaborations ofBilly StrayhornandDuke Ellington.

Liston worked as a "ghost writer" during her career. According to one writer, "Many of the arrangements found in the Gillespie, Jones, and Weston repertoires were accomplished by Liston."[20]

Legacy

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Liston was a female in a profession of mostly males. Although some[21]consider her an unsung hero,[8]she is highly regarded in the jazz community. Liston was a trailblazer as a trombonist, composer, and a woman. She articulated difficulties of being a woman on the road:

"There's those natural problems on the road, the female problems, the lodging problems, the laundry, and all those kinda things to try to keep yourself together, problems that somehow or other the guys don't seem to have to go through."[20]

She goes on to recount the struggles she experienced as an African-American woman, which affected her musical career.[20]However, she generally spoke positively about the camaraderie with and support from male musicians.[3]Liston also dealt with larger issues of inequity in the music industry. One writer has said, "It was clear that she had to continually prove her credentials in order to gain suitable employment as a musician, composer, and arranger. She was not paid equitable scale and was often denied access to the larger opportunities as a composer and arranger."[20]

Musical style

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Liston's musical style reflects bebop and post-bop sensibilities learned from Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey. Her earliest recorded work—such as Gordon's "Mischievous Lady" a tribute to her—her solos show a blend of motivic and linear improvisation, though they seem to make less use of extended harmonies and alterations.[6]

Her arrangements, especially those with Weston, show a flexibility that transcends her musical upbringing in the bebop 1940s, whether working in the styles of swing, post-bop, African musics, or Motown.[6]Her command of rhythmic gestures, grooves, and polyrhythms is particularly notable (as illustrated inUhuru AfrikaandHighlife). Her instrumental parts demonstrate an active use of harmonic possibilities; although her arrangements suggest relatively subdued interest in the explorations of free jazz ensembles, they use an extended tonal vocabulary, rich with altered harmonic voicings, thick layering, and dissonance. Her work throughout her career has been well received by both critics and audiences alike.[6]

Discography

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As leader or co-leader

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As sidewoman or guest

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WithArt Blakey & the Jazz Messengers

WithBetty Carter

WithRay Charles

WithDizzy Gillespie

WithQuincy Jones

WithJimmy Smith

WithDinah Washington

WithRandy Weston

With others

References

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  1. ^ab"Obituary: Melba Liston".The Independent.London, UK. April 27, 1999.RetrievedFebruary 14,2023.
  2. ^Johnson, David (June 15, 2015)."Proving Herself: Melba Liston, Arranger And First Lady Of Trombone".Indiana Public Media.RetrievedNovember 1,2020.
  3. ^abcSmith, Jessie Carney,ed. (1996).Notable Black American Women: Book 2.Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research. pp. 413–415.ISBN9780810391772.OCLC24468213.
  4. ^Oliver, Myrna (April 28, 1999)."Melba Liston; Jazz Trombonist, Composer".Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^Jones, Jae (October 19, 2018)."Melba D. Liston: First Woman Trombonist In Big Band Era".Black Then.RetrievedNovember 1,2020.
  6. ^abcdLouise, Ava (April 10, 2018)."Melba and Her Horn – Accomplishments of the Great Melba Liston".All About Jazz.
  7. ^abKaplan, Erica (Summer 1999). "Melba Liston: It's All from My Soul".The Antioch Review.57(3): 415–425.doi:10.2307/4613889.JSTOR4613889.
  8. ^abSitaraman, Nicole Williams (n.d.)."Melba Liston".The Girls in the Band.RetrievedFebruary 15,2023.
  9. ^abcYanow, Scott."Melba Liston".AllMusic.RetrievedJanuary 15,2019.
  10. ^Gordon, Maxine (2014)."Dexter Gordon and Melba Liston: The 'Mischievous Lady' Session".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 9–26.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0009.ISSN0276-3605.JSTOR10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0009.S2CID191454284.
  11. ^abKernodle, Tammy L. (2014)."Black Women Working Together: Jazz, Gender, and the Politics of Validation".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 27–55.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0027.ISSN0276-3605.JSTOR10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0027.S2CID194065352.
  12. ^Vacher, Paul (May 17, 1999)."Melba Liston: Respected first lady of the jazz trombone".The Guardian.
  13. ^abGinell, Richard S."Randy Weston".AllMusic.RetrievedJanuary 15,2019.
  14. ^"Whatever happened to...Melba Liston".Ebony Magazine.Johnson Publishing Company. June 1977.RetrievedMay 30,2015.
  15. ^abcO'Connell, Monica Hairston; Tucker, Sherrie (2014)."Not One to Toot Her Own Horn(?): Melba Liston's Oral Histories and Classroom Presentations".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 121–158.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0121.ISSN0276-3605.JSTOR10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0121.S2CID191549115.
  16. ^Barg, Lisa; Kernodle, Tammy; Spencer, Dianthe; Tucker, Sherrie (Spring 2014). "Introduction".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 5–6.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0001.
  17. ^Spencer, Dianthe (2014)."Smile Orange: Melba Liston in Jamaica".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 65–83.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0065.ISSN0276-3605.JSTOR10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0065.S2CID154341441.
  18. ^"Melba Liston: Trombonist, Arranger, Composer, Educator".Arts.gov.National Endowment for the Arts. 1987.RetrievedFebruary 15,2023.
  19. ^Watrous, Peter (April 30, 1999)."Melba Liston, 73, Trombonist and Prominent Jazz Arranger".The New York Times.p. C21.RetrievedFebruary 14,2023.
  20. ^abcdPrice III, Emmett G. (Spring 2014). "Melba Liston: Renaissance Woman".Black Music Research Journal.34(1): 163.doi:10.5406/blacmusiresej.34.1.0159.S2CID194043078.
  21. ^Sitaraman, Nicole (September 25, 2011)."Unsung Women of Jazz #6 – Melba Liston".Curt's Jazz Cafe.
  22. ^"Melba Liston | Credits | AllMusic".AllMusic.RetrievedAugust 7,2018.

Further reading

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  • Black Music Research Journal,Vol. 34, No. 1 (Spring 2014).Special issue devoted to Melba Liston.
  • Ammer, Christine. 2001.Unsung: A History of Women in American Music,2nd ed. Portland, OR: Amadeus.
  • Dahl, Linda. 1984.Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen.New York: Pantheon.
  • Hughes, Langston. 1960. Liner notes,Uhuru Afrika.(See discography.)
  • Miller, S. L. (1992). "Randy Weston & Melba Liston: Together Again, Miraculously".Jazz Times.22(1): 24.
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