Jazz trombonist

The trombone is a musical instrument from the brass instrument family. Trombone's first premiere in jazz was with Dixieland Jazz as a supporting role within the Dixie Group. This role later grew into the spotlight as players such as J.J. Johnson and Jack Teagarden began to experiment more with the instrument, finding that it can fill in roles along with the saxophone and trumpet in Bebop Jazz. The trombone has since grown to be featured in standard big band group setups with 3 to 4 trombones depending on the arrangement. Even today the trombone is still growing in popularity with groups and in music with different techniques being attempted and brought up. The trombone is not easy to play for left handed people, although well known trombone player Slide Hampton was a professional player that used a left-handed grip and style. A person who plays the trombone is called a trombone player or a trombonist.

Trombone first saw use in the jazz world with its entrance into Dixieland Jazz where it played along with the chord changes, mimicking or following a string bass or a tuba, allowing the other musicians of the group to improvise along with it. In a standard dixie group, the players marched through the streets or were hauled around, playing in an open trailer. The trombone having a slide instead of valves or strings or holes for playing had difficult positioning themselves, and tended to sit in the back of the trailer, gaining the name "Tailgate Trombone". This style of playing included many trombone specific techniques such as growling, scoops, falls, and slides. These factors provided dixie music with its well known, almost "dirty" feel. Even though the trombone was finally featured in jazz at this point, it was not until the swing era of jazz that the trombone actually stepped into the spotlight.

The swing era of jazz reached its peak in the 1930s, where the trombone was then popular. In a standard swing band there were 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 3 or 4 trombones and a rhythm section. This is when trombone started to stand out as a solo instrument, as many trombone players such as Jack Teagarden began to form their own swing bands, and allowed themselves to show off their instrument that had before been hidden behind the rest of the horns. When this happened, the standard style of playing switched away from the "tailgate trombone" style, and moved towards a lyrical and smooth form of playing, almost that of a trumpet. This revolutionized jazz trombone in a way that no player had thought possible before. This helped move trombone into the spotlight, as it became an instrument of lyrical, smooth, soft playing that people enjoyed listening to.

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