As one of the most impressive artists to emerge from the New Orleans music scene in recent years, Trombone Shorty has garnered respect from some of the most iconic legends in jazz. The seeds of Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue’s super funk/rock sound were planted there and the group has since evolved into a seven-piece touring band.
Listed among his fans is the most important jazz musician of his generation, Nobel Laureate Wynton Marsalis, whose own musical roots were sown and successfully harvested in the Crescent City.
About Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews
Born as Troy Andrews, the talented child prodigy started playing drums as a toddler and by the time he was three years old, he was playing a miniature trumpet. He was nicknamed “Trombone Shorty” by his older brother who saw him marching in a street parade playing a trombone that was larger than he was!
At six, he was playing trumpet and trombone in his brother’s jazz group and at the age of eight, a club in the city’s Tremé district, where he was born and raised, was named Trombone Shorty’s in his honor. By the age of 12 Troy was leading his own band and jamming at New Orleans’ Jackson Square. He graduated fromthe New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts at age 17.
Trombone Shorty as Sideman and Actor
His participation in a PBS documentary on the life of trumpeter Louis Armstrong served as a bridge to a mass audience for his developing talents and brought additional recognition from rocker Lenny Kravitz who asked Trombone Shorty to join his band in 2003. He played with Kravitz off and on for the next four years and in 2007, Trombone Shorty began touring with his own band, Orleans Avenue.
He has performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, U2 and Green Day. Offbeat Magazine awarded Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue their Best R&B/Funk Band in 2008 and 2009, and also proclaimed him Best Trumpeter and Performer of the Year. The talented trombonist/trumpeter/singer/songwriter is currently featured in a recurring role on the hit HBO television series Treme and is sure to make an indelible mark on the conscience of music.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
As of May 2010, the members of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue included Troy Andrews as lead vocalist, trombonist and trumpeter. His band, Orleans Avenue consists of bassist Mike Ballard, tenor saxophonist Tim McFatter, guitarist Pete Murano, baritone saxophonist Dan Oestreicher, drummer Joey Peebles and percussionist Dwayne Williams.
The band’s sound is a mix of New Orleans jazz, rock, funk, soul and hip hop. Their musicality, showmanship and high voltage show can be heard on their Verve Forecast recording titled Backatown, a term that relates to certain New Orleans’ neighborhoods that are in back of the main city streets.
The songs share timeless tales tinged with humor, warmth and blues. There is singing (“St. James Infirmary”) and swinging (“Something Beautiful” featuring Lenny Kravitz) and Trombone Shorty, as an instrumentalist, makes us hear the words but also imparts that special rhythmic feeling that comes from jazz alone. The song titled "Hurricane Season" is also the theme song for MTV's hit show The Real World 24: New Orleans which premiered in June 2010.
Trombone Shorty plays trombone, sings and plays trumpet, keyboards, drums, and other percussion. His hip hop beats, rocking rhythms, and dedicated funk, continue to blaze a trail while never relinquishing his jazz roots.
Trombone Shorty Discography
As a recording artist, Trombone Shorty released his first recording in 2002 - Trombone Shorty’s Swingin’ Gate. He followed up in 2004 with The Same Pocket, Vol. 1 and 12 & Shorty which is a collaborative effort with his brother James' band. In 2005 Tremé Records released The End of the Beginning by the Troy Andrews Quintet and Orleans & Claiborne by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue.
Four volumes of his performances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival entitled Live at Jazz Fest 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 documented his ambitious performances at this internationally renowned music festival
In addition to recording with his own bands, Trombone Shorty has recorded with Kermit Ruffins, the Neville Brothers, the New Birth Brass Band, Irvin Mayfield’s New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and Harry Connick, Jr., among others.
He also appeared on the club hit "Tufflove" on Galactic's Ya-Ka-May in 2010 before releasing his Verve Records debut, Backatown.
Source: Verve Music Group
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