Jazz trombone

The

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. The trombone has since grown to be featured in standard big band

group setups with 3 to 5 trombones depending on the arrangement. A person who plays the trombone is called a trombone player or a trombonist.

History of trombone in jazz

Traditional jazz trombone

Trombone first saw use in the jazz world with its entrance into

traditional jazz where it played along with the chord changes, often connecting the seven to third or third to root resolutions of cadences, 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 traditional jazz with its well known, almost "dirty" feel. The most famous tailgate trombonist was Edward "Kid" Ory

. 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.

Swing era trombone

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

Dickie Wells and Vic Dickenson in the Count Basie Orchestra.^[1] Several trombonists (e.g. Tommy Dorsey, Trummy Young) 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.^[2] 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. This revolutionized jazz trombone in a way that no player had thought possible before. This helped move trombone into the spotlight,^[3]

as it became an instrument of lyrical, smooth, soft playing that people enjoyed listening to.

Bebop jazz trombone

As the era of

extended chords and alterations characteristic of bebop. Although this level of slide trombone virtuosity had been previously displayed in brass bands by the likes of Arthur Pryor

it was new to jazz trombone.

Jazz techniques and equipment

Typically jazz trombonists prefer to play on a standard small or medium bore

valve-attachment

trombones, and are more comfortable to play for extended periods of time in the extreme high range of the instrument. There are certain techniques that trombone players will prominently find in jazz music, or jazz inspired music, such as growling, scooping, falling, flutter tonguing, use of mutes, multiphonics, and even recently with some players, distortion effects.

Use of mutes

The trombone, like most other brass instruments, can have its sound altered through the use of mutes. There are many different types of mutes commonly used in a jazz context.

Plunger Mute - A plunger mute is a plunger head that covers all or part of the open portion of the bell, producing a "wah wah" sound. One distinct example of this sound effect is the sound that adults make when they talk in the Peanuts cartoons.
Cup Mute - The cup mute is a mute inserted inside of the bell, and completely covers it with its distinct cup shape. This mute gives a sound similar to that of a full cover plunger mute, and is typically used in lyrical and smooth jazz playing.
Bucket Mute - The bucket mute is a mute that is normally shaped like a bucket that clips on to the trombone bell, and is filled with some form of dampening material in order to reduce the overall sound output of the instrument. In jazz, it is primarily used in soft ballads. The bucket mute effect can also be achieved by playing into a music stand.