Description
Trombone Shorty is a party in progress. A never-ending second-line party parade purveyor, Troy Andrews has had his “Shorty” nickname since the age of 4, making his professional debut onstage at New Orleans’ Jazz Fest with Bo Diddley.
In person or on record, Shorty brings the same energy and excitement, backed by a group of jazzy funksters who can flip and turn to accentuate their leader’s stratospheric takeoffs. Equally proficient on trumpet and trombone, Shorty stirs soul, rock, funk, and jazz into a bubbling gumbo that gives a hotfoot to anyone within range.
On his latest, Lifted, Shorty stands taller than ever. The album is dedicated to his mother, seen on the cover holding him up at a second-line parade. He credits her as his teacher in keeping the culture and spirit of his Treme neighborhood alive. Gary Clark Jr. and Lauren Daigle drop in for a couple of interludes, but this show is all Shorty, all the content written or co-written by him and performed like a sweaty, enthusiastic crowd was in his face cheering him on.
On the soulful “Come Back,” the lyrics could easily be interpreted as an outreach for his battered hometown’s recovery: “It’s been beaten, it’s been bruised, been had, but at the same time, it still give you love.”
