|
 Every
once in a blue moon along comes someone who can merge the forces of
virtuosity and exuberance and unleash them on an unsuspecting public. The
latest in this exclusive line of blue moon arrivals is
Troy
"Trombone Shorty" Andrews.
Andrews plays trombone and trumpet. He is a man to be
reckoned with on both. A product of
New Orleans
' culturally rich Treme neighborhood, Andrews was a bandleader by the age
of 6.
While Andrews was navigating
New Orleans
as a youngster with his band in tow, he was also absorbing lessons at the
knee of his older brother James, a dynamic musical performer known as
"Satchmo of the Ghetto." It is safe to say that by the time
Andrews hit his early teens, he had a PhD in the ways of the streets,
which you can still hear in his music. But he has also grown into a
performer emanating elegance and class; gleaned from his successful
studies at the prestigious
New Orleans
Center
for the Creative Arts (NOCCA). As a graduate he joined the ranks of other
grads like Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and
Nicholas Payton.
In 2005, Andrews was tapped by Lenny Kravitz
to be a featured member of his horn section for a world tour. A tour that
shared billing with acts such as Aerosmith.
In
London
, during the summer of 2006, Andrews began working with producer Bob
Ezrin and U2 at Abbey Road Studios. This association led to
Andrews performing with U2 and Green Day during the
re-opening spectacular of the New Orleans Superdome for the NFL’s Monday
Night Football pre-game show. The show aired live on ESPN and was
broadcast internationally by Westwood One.
To wrap up 2006, Andrews made his acting debut on the NBC
television series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Leading a group of
New Orleans
musicians, his musical performance of the holiday classic “O Holy
Night” drew such an enthusiastic response from viewers that NBC released
the single for free download on their web site.
Kicking off 2007,
New Orleans
’ premier music magazine, Offbeat, named Andrews their Performer
of the Year. He also garnered honors as Best Contemporary Jazz
Performer.
The here and now finds Andrews a fully developed performer
locked, loaded and bursting into international consciousness. His current
project is
Orleans Avenue
, a funk/pop/hip-hop mix populated with musicians like Andrews who are
young in age only.
Orleans Avenue
brings the heat winding audiences up in merry confusion. Jazz fans shake
their heads in unexpected delight while the funksters shake what they got
with glee. Things reach a fever pitch as Andrews starts his circular
breathing–one note sustained in pristine beauty while the band vamps on
a second line beat and sax player James Martin dances so ugly it's funky.
Virtuosity and exuberance,
Orleans Avenue
effortlessly combines both. With Mike Ballard on bass, James
Martin on tenor sax, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey
Peebles on drums, and Charlie Smith on
keyboards, their performances transcend the boundaries of generations and
classification. Trombone Shorty and
Orleans Avenue
is high energy, high octane and highly contagious.
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