By: Kevin Marós
First off, let’s get you familiar with Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews). Andrews comes from a family of New Orleans music, his older brother is a trumpeter and grandfather a singer/songwriter. Around 2005, he was added as part of Lenny Kravitz’s horn section and in 2006 he performed with U2 and Green Day during the pre-show for the re-opening of the NOLA Superdome on Monday Night Football.
FUN FACT: He got the nickname “Shorty” because his trombone was bigger than he was when he started at 6 years old.
The Orleans Avenue is made up Dan Oesdtreicher (baritone sax), Tim McFatter (tenor sax), Michael “Bass” Ballard (bass), Joey Peebles (drums), and Pete Murano (guitar).
Trombone Shorty and crew were ready to give the Belly Up a most Joyous New Year, crushing instrumental openers “Buckjump” and “Brainstew” (yes, the Green Day song) while canvased in black leather and sunglasses. His vocals on Lenny Kravitz’s “Sistamamalover” show he’s more than just a trombone and trumpet wiz. They played several tracks off their 3 most recent albums (on the Verve Forecast Records label). In true NOLA style, each band member got time to shine and it was great to see Andrews and some of the others watch in awe at their bandmates tear into solos. It was great to hear him give praise to NOLA wonders, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, among several others.
Similar artists to check out:
Wild Tchoupitoulas
The Meters
Allen Toussaint
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Rebirth Brass Band
Galactic