Trombone Shorty | |
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 Trombone Shorty at theSatchmo SummerFest in August 2007 | |
| Born | Troy Andrews (1986-01-02)January 2, 1986 (age 39) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
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| Family | James Andrews Jr. (brother) Jessie Hill (grandfather) |
| Musical career | |
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| Labels | |
| Website | tromboneshorty |
Musical artist | |
Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986),[1] also known by the stage nameTrombone Shorty, is an American musician, most notably atrombone player, fromNew Orleans, Louisiana. His music fusesrock,pop,jazz,funk, andhip hop.[2]
Andrews was one of seven children of James Andrews Jr. and Lois Andrews. He was born in and grew up in theTremé neighborhood ofNew Orleans, where he was exposed to jazz, R&B and music-related traditions such assecond line parades.[1] Andrews is the younger brother of trumpeter and bandleaderJames Andrews III and the grandson of singer and songwriterJessie Hill.[3] His great-uncleWalter "Papoose" Nelson played withFats Domino.[3][4] Andrews's mother Lois Nelson Andrews was a regulargrand marshal ofjazz funerals and second-line parades in New Orleans, where she routinely encouraged young musicians and was known as the "Mother of Music" and "Queen of the Tremé".[3][5] Andrews's father James Andrews Jr., a member of the Bayou Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Club, frequently invited musician friends to visit their home.[1] Other musical family members include cousins Glen David Andrews and the late Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill.[6][7]
Andrews's brother Darnell, also a talented trombone player, was shot and killed in 1995.[8] Following that tragedy, Trombone Shorty was left in the care of his manager and friend, Susan Lovejoy Scott, who actedin loco parentis, managing and mentoring Andrews as a young musician.[9][10]
At the age of four, Andrews started playing a trombone given to him by his brother James "because the family already had a trumpet player".[11] In 1990,Bo Diddley heard the four-year-old Andrews playing and invited him on stage at theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.[12] He participated in brass band parades as a child, becoming a band leader by the age of six. He is featured in Disney’s filmAmerica’s Heart and Soul as a child musician.
In his teens, he was a member of theStooges Brass Band.[13][14] Andrews's parents opened a nightclub in Tremé called Trombone Shorty's, where he would play on occasion as a child, as well as a jam space for musicians called "The Space".[3][1] Andrews attended theNew Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) along with fellow musicianJon Batiste.[15] Since his youth, Andrews has been mentored byCyril Neville, whom he calls "a second father".[16][17] Andrews graduated in 2004 fromWarren Easton High School.[18]
In 2005, Andrews was a featured member ofLenny Kravitz's horn section in a world tour that shared billing with acts includingAerosmith. Andrews was part of the New Orleans Social Club, a group formed afterHurricane Katrina to record a benefit album. He was featured guest on "Hey Troy, Your Mama's Calling You," a tribute to "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling You" aLatin jazz song by theJimmy Castor Bunch in 1966.
Andrews is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary filmMake It Funky!, released in 2005, which presents a history of themusic of New Orleans and its influence onrhythm and blues,rock music,funk andjazz.[19] In the film, he performed withKermit Ruffins andIrvin Mayfield on "Skokiaan", and was a guest performer with theDirty Dozen Brass Band on "My Feet Can't Fail Me Now" as well as a guest performer withBig Sam's Funky Nation on "Bah Duey Duey".[20]
In London, during the summer of 2006, Andrews began working with producerBob Ezrin andU2 atAbbey Road Studios. This association led to Andrews performing with U2 andGreen Day during the re-opening of theLouisiana Superdome for theMonday Night Football pre-game show.[21]
At the end of 2006, Andrews appeared on the NBC television seriesStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where, leading a group of New Orleans musicians, he performed the holiday classic "O Holy Night".[22]
In 2007, he contributed toGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino on the track "Whole Lotta Lovin" along withRebirth Brass Band,Pee Wee Ellis,Fred Wesley,Maceo Parker andLenny Kravitz.[23]
Between 2010 and 2013, Andrews appeared in seven episodes of the HBO seriesTreme.[24]
In 2010, Andrews released theBen Ellman producedBackatown (Verve Forecast), which reached number one on theBillboard Contemporary Jazz Chart for nine consecutive weeks. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue toured Australia, North America, Europe, Japan and Brazil, as well as supported shows forJeff Beck in the U.K. andDave Matthews Band in the U.S. They performed on television shows includingConan,Late Show with David Letterman,The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,Jimmy Kimmel Live!,Bonnaroo, andAustin City Limits. He also recorded on CDs fromGalactic,Eric Clapton, andLenny Kravitz and on the Academy Award nominated song "Down In New Orleans" withDr. John.
In September 2011, Andrews released the albumFor True as a follow-up to his earlier albumBackatown. Along with all the members of his band, Orleans Avenue, this record includes appearances by theRebirth Brass Band,Jeff Beck,Warren Haynes,Stanton Moore,Kid Rock, Ben Ellman andLenny Kravitz as a returning guest artist. On January 8, 2012, Andrews performed the National Anthem before the start of the NFL playoff game between theNew York Giants andAtlanta Falcons.[25]Soul Rebels Brass Band invited Andrews to special guest on theirRounder Records debut record,Unlock Your Mind, released on January 31, 2012. On March 31, 2012, Andrews's single "Do To Me" was featured before both semi-final games of the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament on CBS.
On February 21, 2012, Andrews performed at The White House as part of the Black History Month celebration,In Performance at the White House: Red, White & Blues, which premiered on PBS on February 27, 2012. The event featured performances fromB.B. King,Jeff Beck,Keb' Mo',Mick Jagger,Susan Tedeschi andDerek Trucks and more. Earlier that day, Andrews also participated in a special education program at The White House withMichelle Obama,Keb' Mo' andShemekia Copeland.
On January 24, 2014, Andrews performed atMusiCares alongsideSteven Tyler andLeAnn Rimes. On January 26, 2014, Andrews performed at the56th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. He performed withMacklemore & Ryan Lewis,Madonna andQueen Latifah in a version of Macklemore's "Same Love". On February 16, 2014, Andrews and Orleans Avenue led the performance at halftime of the NBA Allstar Game, which was held at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, with Andrews also acting as music director for the entire segment joined byDr. John,Janelle Monáe,Gary Clark Jr. andEarth, Wind & Fire.
In May 2014,Dave Grohl andFoo Fighters traveled to New Orleans to tape theirHBO series,Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways. After interviewing Andrews for the show, Grohl invited Shorty to sit in with the Foo Fighters during their unannounced performance that night atPreservation Hall. That led to a friendship that has seen Shorty sit in with the Foo Fighters at their performances atVoodoo Festival in New Orleans, Dave Grohl's Birthday Bash at the Forum in Los Angeles and at the William Morris retreat at the Belly Up inSolana Beach, California.
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Also in May 2014, Andrews appeared onMark Ronson's albumUptown Special, notably on the collaboration withMystikal on the single "Feel Right." At the end of 2014, Andrews recorded the theme song for the remake of theOdd Couple, which premiered on CBS in February 2015. In 2015, Andrews made his feature film debut, recording the voice of the teacher Miss Othmar and the other adults inThe Peanuts Movie.
Andrews performed twice forBarack Obama at theWhite House in 2015. The first time was October 14 where he performed "Fiya on the Bayou" and also performed withUsher andQueen Latifah.[26] The second time was December 3 for theNational Christmas Tree lighting where he performed "Jingle Bells" alongsideCrosby, Stills and Nash,Aloe Blacc andReese Witherspoon.[27] In November 2015, Andrews and Orleans Avenue toured Europe with Foo Fighters, although the tour ended early due to theNovember 2015 Paris attacks.[28]
In April 2016, he performed "Stay All Night" withLittle Big Town at the 2016Academy of Country Music Awards.[29]
In the summer of 2016, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue were a supporting act forHall & Oates.[30]
In 2017, Trombone Shorty was theopening act forRed Hot Chili Peppers on theNorth American leg of their 2017The Getaway World Tour.[31]
In February 2017, Trombone Shorty signed toBlue Note Records.[32] His Blue Note debut,Parking Lot Symphony, was released on April 28, 2017, the first day of theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Trombone Shorty cites his mentors as his brother James,Cyril Neville,Wynton Marsalis,Kermit Ruffins,Walter "Wolfman" Washington,Allen Toussaint, andLenny Kravitz.
Andrews has a teenage son, Hasaan "Too" Goffner, with Shalanda Goffner Adams.[33]
Trombone Shorty established the Horns For Schools Project in collaboration with New Orleans MayorMitch Landrieu, which helped schools across New Orleans receive quality instruments donated by Andrews personally.[34]
In December 2010, Andrews curated a two-night Red Hot+New Orleansbenefit concert at theBrooklyn Academy of Music to raise money for the New Orleans NO/AIDS Task Force.[35]
He has also established the Trombone Shorty Foundation. In December 2012, it partnered withTulane University to create an after school academy to mentor high school musicians in the New Orleans area.[36][37]
With others
In early 2007, New Orleans music magazineOffbeat named Andrews Performer of the Year.[43] He also garnered honors as Best Contemporary Jazz Performer.[43]
In 2010, Trombone Shorty's albumBackatown was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.[44][45]
On May 19, 2012, Andrews received the President's Medal fromTulane University President Scott Cowen at the university's Unified Commencement Ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, in recognition of his community service work with the Horns for Schools Project.[46]
In 2016, Andrews received the 21st AnnualHeinz Awards in the Arts and Humanities category, valued at $250,000,[47] "for his achievements as a musician and for his community work to preserve and pass on to younger generations the rich musical heritage of his native New Orleans".[48]
Andrews's autobiography for young readers (titledTrombone Shorty), illustrated byBryan Collier, was named as a 2016Caldecott Honor Book. The award is given to the illustrator by theAssociation for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of theAmerican Library Association (ALA). The book also garnered for Collier theCoretta Scott King Award[49] from the ALA's Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table.
In May 2018, Trombone Shorty won aBlues Music Award in the Blues Instrumentalist: Horn category.[50]
In 2022, Andrews won his firstGrammy Award for his work onJon Batiste'sWe Are as a featured artist.[51]
