Part of the 3rd Grade East She Persisted Series

Introduction 

Have you dreamed about playing the trombone, well this is a story for you. This is a story about Melba Litson.   

Early Years

Melba was born in 1926, in Kansas City, Missouri. She got her first trombone at the age of seven. She was only eight years old when the local radio station invited her to play a solo! The first time she played her trombone it sounded like a howling dog (she needed some practice). 

Life as an Adult

Melba was one of the first women of any race to become a world-class trombone player! Melba died in 1999.

Accomplishments

Melba was one of the first female musicians to compose and arrange

for big band jazz acts. She was the first woman trombonis to play in big bands in the 1940’s and 1960s. She even had some small roles on the big stage.

Conclusion

Melba persisted by being the only woman in the band even when most of the jazz bands were for men only. She also wrote music.

“Music was something that seemed like it was always there… The only thing I really demanded (from my mama) was when I saw this trombone . It did a thing to me and I just had to have it… I was mesmerized by it, I was six or seven.”

-Melba Litson