Review of Trombone Trouble

. . . through college making trombones for some incarnation of the Conn & Selmer Corporation in Elkhart, IN. Naturally, this fact made TROMBONE TROUBLE perk my interest even more. Since Dizzy frequently styles itself as a music education adjunct with films such as this one, the earlier FANTASIA and the later SYMPOSIUM ON POPULAR SONGS, I even took notes as I viewed TROMBONE TROUBLE. This piece never mentions that trombones have been around since the mid-1400's. Nor does enlighten us that the modern trombone is pitched in B-flat, let alone rue the demise of the once-popular E-flat variety. Those watching along are forced to guess that trombones are members of the brass family, at least until the last 15 years, when penny-pinching school bands are scarfing up instruments made from plastic--like kazoos. Why even discuss the historically wide variations in valves and tubing, given the cursory nature of Dizzy's gloss-over treatment?