Trombone 101

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. The trombone is usually characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, although the valve trombone uses three valves similar to those on a trumpet.

The word trombone derives from Italian tromba (trumpet) and -one (a suffix meaning "large"), so the name literally means "large trumpet". Trombones and trumpets share the important characteristic of having predominantly cylindrical bores. Therefore, the most frequently encountered trombones?the tenor and bass trombone?are the tenor and bass counterparts of the trumpet. They are both pitched in B?with the slide all the way in, the notes of the harmonic series based on B can be played?but trombones generally read music in concert pitch.

A person who plays the trombone is called a trombonist.

Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 - missing December 15, 1944), was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big bands". Miller's signature recordings include In the Mood, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Tuxedo Junction, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6-5000.glennmillerorchestra.com While traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather. His body has never been found.

Christian Lindberg (born 1958) is a Swedish trombone virtuoso. Lindberg has premiered over 200 works, including over 70 new concerti. His performances are characterised as having ?a charismatic intensity of delivery? (New Grove, OUP).

Growing up in Sweden, he learned to play the trumpet before taking up the trombone at the age of 17. He originally borrowed a trombone to join his friends' dixieland jazz group, inspired by records of Jack Teagarden.

?I got completely obsessed by the trombone when I first played it. I loved it passionately. The whole world opened up for me.? (Lindberg, The Independent 1995)

He soon started studying with Sven-Erik Eriksson at the Swedish Royal Academy of Music. By the age of 19 he had a professional position in the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra and at 20 he left the orchestral career behind to study to become a full-time soloist. He studied with John Iveson at the Royal College of Music (1979?80) and with Ralph Sauer and Roger Bobo in Los Angeles (1983).

In 1981 he had his first big break, winning the Nordic Soloists' Biennale competition. He had his concert debut in 1984 with the Trombone Concerto by Henri Tomasi with the Swedish RSO conducted by Saraste. In the same year he signed a recording contract by Robert von Bahr and released his first solo CD on the BIS label, ?The Virtuoso Trombone?. Initially commissioned for an impressive three album deal to cover the most challenging music in the repertoire, Lindberg has gone on to produce over 60 solo CDs.

He initially worked with pianist and college friend Roland Pöntinen and local composer Jan Sandström. Early fame came with Sandström's notorious ?Motorbike Concerto?, which involves all the sounds of a motorbike from revving, gear changes and skidding, and a complete story told through the trombone.

Lindberg's facility on the trombone is among the greatest on his instrument. For example, his performance of the solo violin part of ?Winter? from Vivaldi's ?The Four Seasons? concerti requires amazing speed, accuracy, stamina, flexibility and range as with his interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee". By contrast, he brings his lyrical playing abilities to pieces such as ?Julietta's Farewell? from his arrangement of Sergei Prokofiev's ?Romeo and Juliet?.

He is best known for his performance of avant-garde and other theatrical works, achieving a marvellous audience rapport. His repertoire includes Luciano Berio's ?Sequenza V?, Sandström's ?Motorbike Concerto?, Fredrik Högberg's ?The Ballad of Kit Bones? and ?Su ba do be?.

He has developed his tone in the German tradition of a thick, warm sound, often with a fast vibrato. This is the most striking difference between Lindberg's playing and the American and British virtuosi, who tend toward a more focused, free sound. Lindberg plays on a Conn 88H-CL trombone, which facilitates his thick, warm sound.

His compositional career began at the age of 39 after Sven-David Sandström convinced Lindberg to try his hand at composition. His first-performed work was ?Arabenne? for trombone and strings, recorded in 1997.

In 2000 he made his conducting debut with the Northern Sinfonia in the UK. He is now a regular conductor for the Nordic Chamber Orchestra and the Swedish Wind Ensemble.

Recently, Christian Lindberg was commissioned to write a concerto for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and their bass trombonist Charles Vernon. The concerto was written for the alto, tenor, and bass trombones where the soloist switched between the three instruments. Its premiere was a roaring success, Charles Vernon received an extensive review and analysis of the 2007 for the trombone with several new concertos premiering next year in the New York Times.

In 2009 the New Trombone Collective will premiere a special written composition by Lindberg for the NTC and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducting by Christian himself. This will take place on the European Trombone Festival "Slide Factory 2009".

Thomas Francis Dorsey (November 19, 1905 - November 26, 1956Tommy Dorsey at Find a Grave) was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". Dorsey disliked improvisation and had a reputation for being a perfectionist. He was volatile and also known to hire and fire (and sometimes rehire) musicians based on his mood.Peter Levinson quotes Tommy Dorsey as saying "Nobody leaves this band. I only fire people." Drummer Louis Bellson sees a more a benign Dorsey, as the same website quotes him, "He wanted you to play your best every night." see http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/mainHTML.cfm?page=levinson-dorsey.html On George Spink's website saxophonist Bud Freeman says that he quit twice and was fired three times during his employment with Dorsey. Also the same website says that singers Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers quit the Dorsey band in 1942 because of an argument with Dorsey. see http://www.tuxjunction.net/tommydorsey.htm