Trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff pioneered the art of jazz polyphonics, introducing to the avant-garde the symphonic tradition of playing multiple notes simultaneously. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, on September 5, 1928, Mangelsdorff grew up enthralled by jazz, devouring his older brother Emil's record collection. His uncle, a professional... [+] Read More

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During the '80s and '90s, most of the best jazz trombonists were inclined toward free jazz: Albert Mangelsdorff, Craig Harris, and Steve Swell, among them. Others, like Frank Lacy, straddled the fence between avant-garde and mainstream forms. Lacy has played with such free jazz paragons as Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, and Julius Hemphill, yet... [+] Read More

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Trombonist and composer George Lewis studied his crafts with Dean Hey and Muhal Richard Abrams. Lewis' compositions and improvisations are found on over 80 recordings, and he has performed with such musicians, composers, and improvisers as Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, Count Basie, Derek Bailey, and John Zorn. A Yale University philosophy... [+] Read More

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One of the first trombonists to explore free jazz, Grachan Moncur III is still best-known for his pair of innovative Blue Note albums (1963-1964) that also featured Lee Morgan and Jackie McLean on the first session and Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock on the later date. The son of bassist Grachan Moncur II, who played with the Savoy Sultans... [+] Read More

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Julian Priester was a versatile and highly advanced trombonist capable of playing hard bop, post-bop, R&B, fusion, or full-on avant-garde jazz; however, he remains under-appreciated due to the paucity of sessions he recorded under his own name. Priester was born in Chicago on June 29, 1935, and started out on the city's thriving blues and R&B... [+] Read More

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An experimental, unpredictable player who also has a good sense of humor, trombonist Paul Rutherford's worked in many seminal free bands beginning in the '60s. He started on saxophone in the mid-'50s, then switched to trombone and played that instrument in Royal Air Force bands from 1958 to 1963. He met John Stevens and Trevor Watts in the RAF,... [+] Read More

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A boisterous trombonist who has greatly expanded the range of the trombone and is masterful at multi-phonics, Ray Anderson's playing is often hilarious. His main fault is a tendency to repeat the same joke over and over again, namely "look how high I can play." Anderson began playing the trombone when he was eight and early on had a wide variety... [+] Read More

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The older brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks, Robin Eubanks has made his mark playing in his brother's groups, on his own JMT releases, and interacting with many of the top M-Base players, such as Steve Coleman and Greg Osby. Capable of playing anything from bop to free, Eubanks came to New York in 1980, played with Slide Hampton and Sun Ra,... [+] Read More

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Bebop was probably the worst thing ever to happen to the trombone. While the blockish rhythms and rough-hewn sonorities of early jazz were tailor-made for -- and in part, defined by -- the infinitely flexible instrument, the technical requirements of modern jazz just about put it out of business. Over the years, a number of very fine players... [+] Read More

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