The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Russell-Brown, Katheryn

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

40 pp. | Lee | July, 2014 | Trade ISBN 978-1-60060-898-8 $18.95

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Frank Morrison. Seven-year-old Melba Liston chose to play the trombone, an unconventional choice for a girl. By seventeen, she was touring with the greats, including Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones, but--as a female African American musician traveling through the South--faced many challenges. This account is as smooth and stimulating as a trombone solo. Elongated, angular oil paintings perfectly convey the jazz scene. Discography. Bib.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014