1956

Carter Harman, in A Popular History of Music, says, “The trombones are the tenors and baritones of the brass section. They are sometimes found with valves, but the most familiar type is the slide trombone, known in medieval days as the ‘sackbut’…The trombone is less agile than the trumpet, partly because of the time it takes to move the slide between positions, partly because of the heavier, thicker quality of its voice. It sounds mellow and noble, occasionally martial and sometimes (because it can ‘smear’ a glissando) humorous. More than any orchestral instrument its sound resembles the human voice. Its performers, according to orchestral humor, are phlegmatic. It is not certain whether this is due to the nature of the music they are given to play or to the nature of the trombone itself” (Harman).