Melba liston biography of michael

Her musical skills stand out. Bebop jazz is a style of jazz that developed in the mids.

Melba liston biography of michael: Melba Liston was a uniquely talented

It has a fast tempo, rapid chord changes, and numerous changes of key. Lipton used these techniques in her music and composed soulful tunes that have lasted for generations. Liston was a trailblazer for women in jazz. However, she had to continually prove her credentials in order to gain proper work as a musician, composer, and arranger.

Melba liston biography of michael: Melba Liston, the jazz trombonist, was

She was not paid equal measure and was frequently rejected access to the larger openings as a composer and arranger. The things that Melba Liston had to go through to make her mark in the jazz world were a lot but she conquered it. She was able to compose and record beautiful music that has lasted for generations. Fresh Sound Records All rights reserved.

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She learned to arrange and write, as well as play, and quickly found herself snapped up by Gerald Wilson, who hired her as a copyist, arranger, and trombonist during the War. Her writing and arranging were formidable, and after Dizzy's big band folded inshe stayed busy in New York with writing and playing. She returned to Los Angeles in the late s, and moved to Jamaica into teach at the Institute of Music there.

She returned insettling in New York to lead her own group. She suffered a stroke in that ended her playing career, but continued to compose and arrange until her death in Liston also became a staff arranger for the Motown label. Slowed by a stroke inwhich effectively ended her playing career, she was able to resume work as a composer and arranger in the s through the aid of computer technology.

Liston's career helped pave the way for women in jazz in roles other than as vocalists. Skip to main content. Her funeral at St. 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.

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, especially Motownand arranged scores for dozens of high profile musicians, including Clark TerryMarvin GayeMary Lou Williamsand Gloria 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 s into the 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. 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:. She goes on to recount the struggles she experienced as an African-American woman, which affected her musical career.

Melba liston biography of michael: Melba Liston (January 13,

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. 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. Her arrangements, especially those with Weston, show a flexibility that transcends her musical upbringing in the bebop s, whether working in the styles of swing, post-bop, African musics, or Motown.

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.

With Jimmy Smith.

Melba liston biography of michael: She was a legend

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