Trumpet

Trumpet is a 1998 novel that tells the story of a transgender jazz trumpeter named Joss Moody. Though Joss is a fictional character, author Jackie Kay based the character on a real-life transgender jazz pianist, Billy Tipton, who, like Joss, concealed his assigned gender until the time of his death. Kay also uses her own life as a touchstone for many of the thematic elements of the novel, including same-sex orientation, struggles with identity, and experiences of racial, same-sex, and gender prejudice. While the novel covers many decades of Joss’s life, the narrative begins and focuses on the turmoil of his wife, Millie, and their adopted son, Colman, after Joss’s concealed gender comes to light. Millie and Colman find themselves suddenly estranged and facing harsh, unexpected challenges. Kay has distinguished herself over several decades as an author, serving as the Makar, or Poet Laureate of Scotland, from 2016 to 2021. The novel received the 1998 Guardian Fiction Prize as the most outstanding novel published in the United Kingdom.

This guide references the first 2000 Random House Vintage Contemporaries Edition.

Content Warning: Trumpet discusses racism, same-sex bias, and transphobia throughout.

Plot Summary

Trumpet begins with Millie, the widow of jazz trumpet legend Joss Moody, peeking out her window at paparazzi and reporters who have been lying in wait for her since Joss died and it came to light that, though he presented himself to the world as a man, he was assigned female at birth.