The Hidden Trombone

Incredible agility and great lines.

Seriously high and upliftingly un-serious at the same time.

One of the best examples of lead/soloing.

Sound, groove, great example of New Orleans-style playing.

Very expressive, great use of dynamics.

Melodic playing, sound, valve trombone, structure.

Amazing soloing with intricate harmonic lines all within a 12th range. No extreme highs or lows. And also the best example of a horn player comping the chord player in a duo setting.

Smooth valve style, interesting phrasing.

Translating the language of contemporary gospel singing to the trombone.

Jimmy Cleveland has an incredibly beautiful sound. You can clearly hear how he begins the notes and embellishes them. It's worth checking out the whole head.

Hard edged, salsa style.

Sound and phrasing especially in the high register.

Strong example of development of JJ-Curtis approach.

His full and round sound fits so perfectly into this disco-track! As if this would be the most normal thing in the world.

Melodic playing, time feel, unique phrasing.

Early connection between swing and bop styles.

Harmonic, smooth, relaxed.

Energy, lines, ideas.

One of the best examples of exceptional phrasing and soloing that transcends technique and virtuosity.

A perfect solo, takes time, excellent phrasing.

Globokar started out as Jazz Musician in Slowenia in the 50ies. All his life he worked on expanding the possibilities of the trombone.

Unique plunger, very personal.

Soloing and also the comping/harmony to the melody.

Energy and ideas.

Up tempo swing style solo using riffs, glisses, against the grain, and high notes to build excitement.

Very energetic, motifs.

Here Slide Hampton plays with a rhythm section made up of traditional musicians and "innovators." He also plays some very beautiful chromatic lines that break up the chords. A good example of how a trombonist can move away from diatonic playing.

Idiosyncratic, personalized approach to the instrument, every note is a journey.

Contemporary player synthesising many influences.

Agility, energy, clarity.

Melodic playing, perfect solo structure.

Here we can hear how J.J. handles motifs, rhythm, and phrasing. The solo is kind of the essence of J.J.

Compare and contrast JJ and Kai to see nuances.

Here we hear Jimmy Knepper at his best. His distinctive phrasing and choice of notes are particularly evident here, and also because it's a well-known standard.

Complete control over the instrument, legato bebop language in a relaxed style.

Clarity, melodic lines and time feel.

Virtuosic display of extreme ranges, tone colors and vocabulary.

Unique mix of lyrical and bop style works to great effect.

A good example of using multiphonics on the trombone and alternating them with "normal" lines.

I admire the rhythmical sophistication, the melodic ideas spread over the whole range of the horn, and the ease he has to execute the large intervals.

Amazing trombone playing. Solo development. Angular lines and unbelieveable facility and dexterity on the instrument.

Adrian combines an extremely powerful and open sound (over an huge range) with melodic versatility. Also his sense of time and swing is admirable.

Unbelievable technique and sound. Amazing ideas.

The album has an incredible atmosphere. Grachan Monchur isn't about virtuoso playing, but rather sound and vibe. A great example of how to create something unique with the trombone.

Plunger mastery – open and closed, rapid alteration, double tonguing with plunger, tight plunger.

The dramatic solo tells a captivating story using only the range of a sixth! (if you don’t count the very last note).

Unique plunger/pixie style.

Super lyrical with beautiful vocal phrasing.

Sound, groove, statements.

Unique phrasing and rhythms.

His unique phrasing and sound sits so perfectly well in the groove!

Helped define a salsa sound concept.

The beauty and power of extremely loud trombone. Imitating Cuban singers, he had perfect phrasing and rhythmic accuracy.

Unique sound, phrasing, patience

Unique playing style, phrasing, energy.

Rhythmic and melodic.

The weird side of Rosolino; on this soundtrack he uses kazoo mute throughout .

Roswell Rudd is like Grachan Monchur III a trombone player with a "rougher" sound and different approach than all the Bebop players. Every trombone player should know his playing and try to get behind his "secret" and get beyond technique and clean playing.

Through tonal manipulation, Roswell shows us how one note can be more powerful than a thousand.

Beautiful tone and legendary high register playing especially in the ending!

Every trombone player should listen to Jack Teagarden. His particular style and phrasing comes across on this track. Check out his lip trills and phrasing. A good example for early jazz language and modern trombone playing.

Incredible agility, melodic playing.

Wide intervals and harmonic approach innovative to the trombone at this time.

Turre must have studied the plunger very well – the many different sounds he gets out of it are a natural part of his vocabulary.

Excellent ballad playing in Dorsey style.

The trombone is preaching! My hair moves from the wind coming out of his horn even when I listen to the recording on a small speaker.

Loudest trombonist I've ever heard!

Bluesy, loud, great use of space and fast rhythms over slow tempo.

Powerful sound and amazing time feel.

Excellent example of Basie's leading early trombone soloist.