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Trombone Shorty

It was after midnight when Trombone Shorty stepped offstage at the House of Blues in New Orleans, but he wasn’t done playing yet. Not by a long shot.

“I had an idea for a new song right after the show,” says Shorty, “so the band and I decided to go straight into the studio and record it that night. We were still sweaty and buzzing from the energy of the gig, and we definitely carried that vibe into the session with us.”

Take a listen to Lifted, Trombone Shorty’s second release for Blue Note Records, and you’ll hear that same ecstatic energy coursing through the entire collection. Recorded at Shorty’s own Buckjump Studio with producer Chris Seefried (Fitz and the Tantrums, Andra Day), the album finds the GRAMMY-nominated NOLA icon and his bandmates tapping into the raw power and exhilarating grooves of their legendary live show, channeling it all into a series of tight, explosive performances that blur the lines between funk, soul, R&B, and psychedelic rock. The writing is bold and self-assured, standing up to hard times and loss with grit and determination, and the playing is muscular to match, mixing pop gleam with hip-hop swagger and second line abandon. Wild as all that may sound, Lifted is still the work of a master craftsman, and the album’s nimble arrangements and judicious use of special guests—from Gary Clark Jr. and Lauren Daigle to the rhythm section from Shorty’s high school marching band—ultimately yields a collection that’s as refined as it is rapturous, one that balances technical virtuosity and emotional release in equal measure as it celebrates music’s primal power to bring us all together.

“I think this is the closest we’ve ever gotten to bottling up the live show and putting it on a record,” says Shorty, whose audiences have grown exponentially in recent years. “Normally when I’m in the studio, I’m trying to make the cleanest thing I can, but this time around, I told everybody to really cut loose, to perform like they were onstage at a festival.”

If anybody knows their way around a festival, it’s Trombone Shorty. Born Troy Andrews, he got his start (and nickname) earlier than most: at four, he made his first appearance at Jazz Fest performing with Bo Diddley; at six, he was leading his own brass band; and by his teenage years, he was hired by Lenny Kravitz to join the band he assembled for his Electric Church World Tour. Shorty’s proven he’s more than just a horn player, though. Catch a gig, open the pages of the New York Times or Vanity Fair, flip on any late-night TV show and you’ll see an undeniable star with utterly magnetic charisma, a natural born showman who can command an audience with the best of them. Since 2010, he’s released four chart topping studio albums; toured with everyone from Jeff Beck to the Red Hot Chili Peppers; collaborated across genres with Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Foo Fighters, ZHU, Zac Brown, Normani, Ringo Starr, and countless more; played Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, and nearly every other major festival; performed four times at the GRAMMY Awards, five times at the White House, on dozens of TV shows, and at the star-studded Sesame Street Gala, where he was honored with his own Muppet; launched the Trombone Shorty Foundation to support youth music education; and received the prestigious Caldecott Honor for his first children’s book. Meanwhile in New Orleans, Shorty now leads his own Mardi Gras parade atop a giant float crafted in his likeness, hosts the annual Voodoo Threauxdown shows that have drawn guests including Usher, Nick Jonas, Dierks Bentley, Andra Day, and Leon Bridges to sit in with his band, and has taken over the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s hallowed final set, which has seen him closing out the internationally renowned gathering after performances by the likes of Neil Young, the Black Keys, and Kings of Leon.

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In Pictures

Stuttgart Jazz Open 2017

Read "Stuttgart Jazz Open 2017" reviewed by Jean-François Kalka


Over the course of ten days, the Stuttgart Jazz Open (SJO) played host to 40 performances across six venues, in and across greater Stuttgart. An outstanding cast of performers from the likes of Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Norah Jones, Wayne Shorter, Lee Ritenour, to the young and talented Isabella Lundgren, recognized by the Swedish Daily News as “one of the greatest things that the Swedish jazz scene has ever happened" and the likes of Kamasi Washington, this ...

8
Live Review

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Space at Westbury

Read "Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Space at Westbury" reviewed by Mike Perciaccante


Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue The Space at Westbury Westbury, NY June 16, 2017 Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews is New Orleans musical royalty. His grandfather was R&B and blues singer Jessie Hill, who is known for the classic tune “Ooh Poo Pah Do." Shorty's older brother is trumpeter James Andrews (also known as “Satchmo of the Ghetto") with whom he performed “Ooh Poo Pah Doo" on the HBO series Tremé. James Andrews made his ...

3
Album Review

Trombone Shorty: Parking Lot Symphony

Read "Parking Lot Symphony" reviewed by Geno Thackara


Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews is the kind of player that's taken Duke Ellington's philosophy of genres truly to heart--the outlook that “there are two kinds of music, good music and the other kind." His jazz and jny: New Orleans roots run throughout most everything he does, though they often share equal space with modern rhythm and/or blues, pop, hip-hop and anything else that gets hips shaking. Guests from the rock and roll world (Lenny Kravitz, Warren Haynes, Jeff Beck or ...

14
Live Review

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at The Space at Westbury

Read "Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at The Space at Westbury" reviewed by Mike Perciaccante


Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with special guests The Pimps of Joytime The Space at Westbury Westbury, NY June 12, 2015 The new, young ambassador of the jny: New Orleans sound stormed the stage at Westbury, NY's The Space on Friday, June 12. Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews is a member of one of New Orleans' most royal musical families. His grandfather was Jessie Hill, the R&B and blues artist most famous for ...

17
Live Review

2014 Voodoo Music and Arts Experience: The Local Heroes & The Up-And-Coming Stars of Tomorrow

Read "2014 Voodoo Music and Arts Experience: The Local Heroes & The Up-And-Coming Stars of Tomorrow" reviewed by Mike Perciaccante


2014 Voodoo Music and Arts Experience New Orleans, LA October 31 -November 2, 2014 In 1974, after seeing a performance at the Harvard Square Theater, Jon Landau once wrote, “I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time." What a bold, prophetic and accurate statement. Now, forty ...

8
Extended Analysis

Trombone Shorty: Say That to Say This

Read "Trombone Shorty: Say That to Say This" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


For his third Verve album, Troy Andrews, a/k/a Trombone Shorty, and his band Orleans Avenue go back to school--more precisely, back to the slippery yet organic “old school" sound of R&B, soul and funk, thanks to contributions from composer, instrumentalist and co-producer Raphael Saadiq, formerly of the soul vocal group Tony!Toni!Toné! How does Shorty describe his new album? “Really funky, like James Brown mixed with The Meters and Neville Brothers, with what I do on top; and we have a ...

2
Live Review

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue: Denver, CO, December 29, 2012

Read "Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue: Denver, CO, December 29, 2012" reviewed by Geoff Anderson


Trombone Shorty and Orleans AvenueOgden TheaterDenver, CODecember 29, 2012“Supafunkrock." That's the word singer/trombonist/trumpeter Trombone Shorty coined to describe the music he and his band Orleans Avenue play. The term captures only part of the ingredients the band mixes into its musical mélange. Besides funk and rock, the band adds generous helpings of soul, blues, hip-hop and jazz. Mostly, however, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue sets out to create one big party. And it's no wonder; ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

It was after midnight when Trombone Shorty stepped offstage at the House of Blues in New Orleans, but he wasn’t done playing yet. Not by a long shot. “I had an idea for a new song right after the show,” says Shorty, “so the band and I decided to go straight into the studio and record it that night. We were still sweaty and buzzing from the energy of the gig, ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their latest album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed “Supafunkrock." “There was excitement from everywhere," says Andrews (now 27) of the experience on the road and how it ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their latest album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed “Supafunkrock." “There was excitement from everywhere," says Andrews (now 27) of the experience on the road and how it ...

1

Festival

CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Announces 19th Edition Lineup

CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Announces 19th Edition Lineup

Source: Dalmath Associates Inc.

Producers John Nugent and Marc Iacona today announced the full lineup with a record number of shows for the 2020 nine-day CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival. Now in its 19th year, the festival will be held June 19 to 27 and present 335-plus shows including more than 100 free shows and 1750-plus artists performing in 21 diverse venues in downtown jny:Rochester, New York. From legendary performers and familiar favorites, to rising stars and new discoveries, the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival navigates all genres of creative improvised ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their latest album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed “Supafunkrock." “There was excitement from everywhere," says Andrews (now 27) of the experience on the road and how it ...

1

Festival

18th Edition Of The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Starts Friday June 21!

18th Edition Of The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Starts Friday June 21!

Source: Dalmath Associates Inc.

Jazz in June officially starts this Friday June 21 with the opening of the 18th Edition of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival. The nine- day Festival runs through June 29 and will present more than 320 shows including a record 102 free shows and events and 220 shows in the Club Pass Series. It all takes place at 20 venues, all within walking distance in jny: Rochester NY's East End Cultural District. More than 208,000 people attended last year's ...

1

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Trombone Shorty

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Trombone Shorty

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue, who will be returning to St. Louis to perform next Friday, June 7 at The Pageant. Since he last played here in 2015, Shorty (aka Troy Andrews) has continued to enjoy crossover success, touring frequently in the USA and overseas and putting out the album Parking Lot Symphony, released in 2017 on Blue Note Records. This year, he also was selected as the ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their latest album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed “Supafunkrock." “There was excitement from everywhere... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Jazz Musician of the Day: Trombone Shorty

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Trombone Shorty's birthday today!

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their latest album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed “Supafunkrock." “There was excitement from everywhere... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or ...

1

Festival

Music Festivals: Revenue For Event And Host City Is Staggering

Music Festivals: Revenue For Event And Host City Is Staggering

Source: HypeBot

For the last decade, live music has been a ray of sunshine in the music industry's otherwise often cloudy skies. In the last few years, mega-festivals seem to be cropping up everywhere often generating huge revenue for both presenters and the host town.  By  Steve Baltin for The Grammys April is festival month at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California with two weekends of Coachella, followed by country music fest Stagecoach. As large as the names are at the ...

When the horns blow, it's all you need to know. - Rolling Stone, Will Hermes They set a blistering pace on this guest-laden follow-up to last year's Grammy-nominated Backatown. - USA Today, Steve Jones' 4-star review of For True brass band, funk, rock and even some gospel-drenched soul music.. in many ways, he is a genre unto himself. - Billboard hailed as New Orleans' brightest new star in a generation. - NPR, Talk of the Nation ...the Jimi Hendrix of the trombone. - Rhythms (Australia), Brian Wise ...one of the best entertainers out there, period. He's an incredible horn player

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Lifted

Blue Note
2022

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Red Balloon

Verve Forecast
2022

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Pianola, Piano &...

Warner Music UK Ltd.
2021

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Jazz Fest The New...

Smithsonian Folkways
2019

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Throwback

Basin Street Records
2018

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Laid Black

Universal Music France
2018

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Videos

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