February 1, 2017
Trombone Shorty has signed with Blue Note Records and will make his debut for the iconic jazz label this April ahead of his appearance at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, where he has inherited the festival’s prestigious closing set in the legacy of great New Orleans artists like the Neville Brothers and Professor Longhair. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are currently out on an extensive tour opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers, including three sold-out shows at both Madison Square Garden in New York City (February 15, 17, 18) and Staples Center in Los Angeles (March 7, 8, 10). For a full list of tour dates visit tromboneshorty.com/tour.
* * *
Part Jimi Hendrix, part James Brown and all New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a hard-edged funk band that employs brass-band beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. A 2011 GRAMMY Award nominee, his virtuosity and high-energy live shows have drawn unanimous raves worldwide.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue were named halftime performers for the 63rd Annual NBA All-Star Game, where they performed a medley of their own songs and as well as hits by Dr. John, Gary Clark, Jr., Janelle Monae and Earth Wind & Fire—all of whom performed live with Andrews and his band, live on TNT. In 2015 he performed with Queen Latifah and Usher at The White House, toured Europe in support of Foo Fighters, and then returned to The White House to appear at the National Christmas Tree Lighting. Andrews also made his feature film debut in 2015—using his trombone to voice the iconic sound of the adult characters in the animated box office smash The Peanuts Movie.
In 2016, Andrews was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” Class of 2016 for Music along with Selena Gomez, The Weeknd and Jon Batiste, and performed (yet again) at The White House as part of International Jazz Day. His illustrated autobiography for young readers, Trombone Shorty, was named a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book by the American Library Association. Trombone Shorty is passing down his musical knowledge and keeping the New Orleans brass band tradition alive through his own Trombone Shorty Foundation and Music Academy, and since 2014 has worked as a “Turnaround Artist’” with the Turnaround Arts Initiative, a program that helps low-performing schools improve through intensive arts programs.
