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. Millie thinks of her and Joss’s secret home in Torr, Scotland, a seaside village where they celebrated most of their family events. In the middle of the night, she sneaks out and drives from London to Torr.

The novel cuts to the past, with Millie reminiscing about meeting Joss at a blood drive in Glasgow, Scotland. Their relationship begins slowly with casual dates and no romance. After a concert, Millie takes Joss into her apartment, anticipating they will make love. When she demands to know why he is reluctant to be physical with her, he removes the surgical bandages that compress his breasts and reveals them. Deeply in love, Millie accepts Joss wholeheartedly and keeps his secret. They marry, despite her mother’s misgivings regarding Joss being Black. The couple ends up adopting a biracial boy whose name they change from William Dunsmore to Colman. Back in the present, Colman has yet to respond to Millie’s calls since Joss’s funeral. Millie knows he’s spoken to a tabloid reporter, Sophie Stones, as she’s also written her a letter, offering to pay her for an interview for the book she and Colman are planning to write about Joss.

Throughout the novel, there are chapters detailing the professionals who come into contact with Joss’s body after his death, medically and legally. The first of these chapters follows the coroner, Dr. Krishnamurty, who arrives at 3am to pronounce Joss’s death. After filling out a death certificate, she discovers Joss has female characteristics and goes back and writes “female” in large red letters on the form. The second professional introduced is the registrar of certifications, Mohammad Nassar Sharif. Though presented with Joss’s birth certificate, with the name “Josephine Moore,” he allows the death certificate to read “Joss Moody,” marking the deceased as female. The third professional introduced is the funeral director, Albert Holding, who prides himself on comforting grieving families. Colman does not know his father was assigned female at birth, so it falls to Albert to reveal this. This revelation devastates Colman.

Colman takes over the narrative, describing his early life to tabloid reporter Sophie. He speaks of his earliest years, traveling from concert to concert with his parents. He speaks fondly of their vacation home in Torr, where they could escape the bustle of the city. Colman describes himself as a failure at everything he tries and regards the first 30 years of his life as a sham. When he confronts his mother about Joss’s gender, she repeatedly apologizes. After the funeral, he cuts contact with her.

Millie receives a third letter from Sophie. Unlike the previous two, she does not burn this one. Millie grows concerned about Colman. After he became an adolescent, she lost control of him and feels at his mercy. She calls in a locksmith to change the locks so Colman won’t have access, unlike the London house. Millie reflects on how little she knew of Joss’s life before they got married. She feels his spirit is still with her, guiding her decisions. Filled with regret, she dreams of him at night.

Colman describes his adolescence to Sophie. He intentionally behaved with disrespect, which embarrasses him now. He got into trouble with the police, which he attributed to being Black, though Joss thought he brought trouble onto himself. When Colman asked his father about his parents’ sex life, Joss was candid, telling Colman when and where they made love and that they were completely faithful to each other—but omitting his assigned gender.

Sophie describes her efforts at manipulating Colman; she is confident that the book about Joss will make her wealthy. The narrator describes the distrust in Sophie and Colman’s relationship: Each manipulates the other to accomplish their individual goals. The narrator comments on Sophie’s habit of compensating for her depression by going to upscale stores and purchasing the newest fashion.

The narrator includes a series of chapters about the Moodys’ acquaintances whom Sophie attempts to interview. These acquaintances include Big Red McCall, Joss’s best friend and bandmate, who does not care about Joss’s assigned gender; Maggie, the housekeeper who took care of the family’s London home for two years; and May Hart, Joss’s childhood playmate who had romantic feelings for Josephine.

Millie’s thoughts lead her to recall Joss’s illness, decline, and death. She’d sat with his body for a time after he stopped breathing before calling the police. Remembering this prepares her to face Colman and Sophie.

Colman and Sophie arrive in Glasgow and stay in adjoining rooms in an expensive hotel. As sexual tension arises between the two, Colman considers what he will say to Edith Moore, Joss’s 87-year-old mother. He insists on going to see her alone. He finds Edith in an apartment in a retirement community, and she invites him in for tea.

After spending the day with Edith, Colman decides against writing a book about his father. He avoids Sophie until, late in the evening, he knocks on her door. They go to the hotel bar where they drink and argue. The next morning, Colman wakes up in bed with Sophie. Leaving a note that says he will not cooperate in writing the book, he sneaks out, determined to see his mother in Torr. As he rides the bus from Glasgow to Torr, he reads the letter left for him by his father. It describes how Joss’s father came from the West Indies to London at the turn of the 20th Century. Joss points out how he, his father, and Colman are very much alike and face the same dilemma of preserving the legacy of their forebears while creating their own identities. Colman reunites with Millie at the harbor in Torr.