Center for Black Music Research
Score and composer collections Melba Liston scores Finding Aid, or Guide to the CollectionTitle: Melba Liston scores, 1896-1991
Predominant Dates:1957-1982
ID: 2000/LIST_2005
Primary Creator: Liston, Melba
Extent: 54.41 Linear Feet. More info below.
Arrangement:
The Liston scores are arranged in two main series: 1) lead sheets and 2) scores, both arranged in alphabetical order. A subseries of Series I consists of collections of lead sheets and song books, including music from the theatrical productions The Black Mikado and The Dread Mikado as well as collections of works by one composer.
Series II includes arrangements and transcriptions. Music for the theatrical production Smile Orange is included here. A subseries of Series II includes a selection of arrangements from gig books. Two additional subseries of Series II filed at the end of the series contain her works for individual musicians arranged alphabetically, which reflects the organization of her scores as they were originally received, and scores and arrangements by other composers.
Series III is comprised of a small number of lyric sheets and miscellaneous fragments.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1999
Subjects: Composers, Black, Liston, Melba, Musicians, Black, Trombonists
Forms of Material: Jazz
The Melba Liston Collection primarily documents her careers as arranger, composer, and educator rather than her accomplishments as a trombonist. It contains lead sheets to her own and other people’s compositions and manuscript scores of many of her arrangements for Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Mary Lou Williams, among others. One extensive series contains numerous arrangements for Randy Weston, and her late computer scores for him are also present.
Liston’s career as an arranger for recording companies—especially Motown—and for performers such as Marvin Gaye, Ruth Brown, Gloria Lynne, and others, is highlighted in most jazz reference books. Arrangements for performers can be found among her scores, although details about the specific arrangements are often cryptic. Also included in her score collection are musical arrangements and lead sheets dating from her years spent as an educator in Jamaica, although once again, related documentation is sparse or lacking.
Liston's surviving papers document very little of her life, reflecting mainly on her music, which to her was all-important. Performers will find her scores and lead sheets useful. Potential biographers will find it necessary to rely on secondary sources and interviews to place her music in its historical context.
Repository: Center for Black Music Research
Alternate Extent Statement: 54.41 linear feet (44 boxes)
Access Restrictions: None
Use Restrictions: None
Physical Access Note: Includes manuscripts
Acquisition Source: Stattion, Thelma
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