Trombone Shorty

Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty is a trombone and trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He has worked in jazz, funk and rap music. Andrews is the younger brother of trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews as well as the grandson of singer and songwriter Jessie Hill. Andrews began playing trombone at age six, and since 2009 has toured with his own band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

Biography
Andrews grew up in New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood and participated in brass band parades as a child, becoming a bandleader by the age of six. In his teens, Andrews was a member of the Stooges Brass Band, recording and playing with the band. He attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA).

In 2005, Andrews was a featured member of Lenny Kravitz's horn section in a world tour that shared billing with acts including Aerosmith.

Six weeks after the levees failed in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, some of the city's greatest musicians came to Austin, Texas, to record a benefit CD called Sing Me Back Home at Wire Studios with producers Leo Sacks and Ray Bardani. With their lives in transition, the collective became known as The New Orleans Social Club. Andrews was the featured guest on "Hey Troy, Your Mama's Calling You," a tribute to "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Calling You" which was a Latin-jazz-soul hit for the Jimmy Castor Bunch on Smash Records in 1966. Andrews also performed on "Where Y'At" as part of The Sixth Ward All-Star Brass Band Revue featuring Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers.

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 of the New Orleans Superdome for the NFL’s Monday Night Football pre-game show.

At the end of 2006, Andrews appeared on the NBC television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Leading a group of New Orleans musicians, he performed the holiday classic "O Holy Night". NBC released the single for free download.

In early 2007, New Orleans’ music magazine Offbeat named Andrews their Performer of the Year. He also garnered honors as Best Contemporary Jazz Performer. Also in 2007, he accepted an invitation to contribute to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino on the track “Whole Lotta Lovin” along with Rebirth Brass Band, Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Lenny Kravitz.

, his current project is Orleans Avenue, a funk/pop/hip-hop mix including musicians Mike Ballard on bass, Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax, Tim McFatter on tenor sax, Pete Murano on guitar and Joey Peebles on drums.

Since 2010, Andrews has appeared in six episodes of the HBO series Treme.

In 2010 Andrews released Backatown (Verve Forecast), which hit Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart at No. 1 and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue toured across Australia, North America, Europe, Japan and Brazil, as well as supported shows for Jeff Beck in the U.K. and Dave Matthews Band in the U.S. They performed on television shows including Conan, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits. He also recorded on new and upcoming CDs from Galactic, Eric Clapton, and Lenny Kravitz and on the Academy Award nominated song "Down In New Orleans" with Dr. John.

In December 2010, Andrews curated a two-night Red Hot+New Orleans performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music to raise money for the New Orleans NO/AIDS Task Force.

In September 2011, Andrews released the album For True as a follow up to his earlier album Backatown. Along with all the members of his band, Orleans Avenue, this record includes appearances by the Rebirth Brass Band, Jeff Beck, Warren Haynes, Stanton Moore, Kid Rock, Ben Ellman and Lenny Kravitz as a returning guest artist.

On January 8, 2012 Andrews performed the National Anthem before the start of the NFL playoff game between the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

Soul Rebels Brass Band invited Andrews to special guest on their Rounder Records debut record, Unlock Your Mind, released on January 31, 2012.

On May 19, 2012, Andrews received the President's Medal from Tulane University President Scott Cowen at the university's Unified Commencement Ceremony at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La., in recognition of his community service work with the Horns for Schools Project. He thrilled the graduates and visitors by playing the trombone and singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” along with Dr. Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band at the ceremony.

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 February 27, 2012. The event featured performances from B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Keb' Mo', Mick Jagger, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks and more. Earlier that day, Andrews also participated in a special education program at The White House with Michelle Obama, Keb' Mo' and Shemekia Copeland.

The Trombone Shorty Foundation
The Trombone Shorty Foundation evolved from Andrews’ Horns For Schools Project, a collaboration with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu that helped schools across New Orleans receive quality instruments donated by Andrews personally. The Foundation’s mission is "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians." In December 2012, the Foundation partnered with Tulane University to create an After School Academy to mentor aspiring, high school musicians in the New Orleans Area.

Studio albums

 * For True, Verve Forecast Records (released Sept 13, 2011) (UK chart peak: No. 160)
 * Backatown, Verve Forecast Records, 2010 (by Trombone Shorty)
 * Orleans & Claiborne, Treme Records, 2005 (by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue)
 * Trombone Shorty Meets Lionel Ferbos (by Trombone Shorty & Lionel Ferbos)
 * The End of the Beginning, Treme Records, 2005 (by The Troy Andrews Quintet)
 * 12 & Shorty, Keep Swingin' Records, 2004 (by James & Troy Andrews)
 * It's About Time, 2003 (as part of the Stooges Brass Band)
 * Trombone Shorty's Swingin' Gate, Louisiana Red Hot Records, 2002 (by Troy Andrews)

Live albums

 * Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, MunckMix, 2008 (by Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue)
 * Live at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, MunckMix, 2007 (by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews)
 * Live at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, MunckMix, 2006 (by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews)
 * Live at the 2004 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, MunckMix, 2004 (by Troy Andrews & Orleans Avenue)

Appearances
He appears as a sideman on
 * 2012 - “People Pleaser” (featuring Maceo Parker) on the record Superconductor by Andy Allo
 * 2012 - "Merry Christmas, Baby" on the record CeeLo's Magic Moment with Cee Lo Green
 * 2012 - “Merry Christmas, Baby” and “Red-Suited Superman” on the record Merry Christmas, Baby by Rod Stewart
 * 2012 - “It Ain’t My Fault” (featuring Allen Toussaint and Yasiin Bey a.k.a Mos Def) on the record St. Peter & 57th Street by Preservation Hall Jazz Band
 * 2012 - "Overnight" on the record Uncaged by Zac Brown Band (Atlantic Records/Southern Ground Artists)
 * 2011 - Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) - Jeff Beck (Atlantic Records). Also Philadelphia Folk Festival
 * 2010 - Cineramascope (also featuring Corey Henry) - Galactic. Also recorded live along with "Ooh Nah Nay" at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
 * 2008 - Tufflove - Galactic
 * 2007 - Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard)
 * 2007 - Marsalis Music Honors Bob French - Bob French (Marsalis Music)
 * 2007 - Oh, My NOLA - Harry Connick, Jr. (Sony/Columbia)
 * 2006 - The Saints Are Coming - U2 and Green Day (Mercury Records). Track 2, "The Saints are Coming (Live from New Orleans)"
 * 2006 - "Hey Troy, Your Mama's Calling You" and "Where Y'At" by The New Orleans Social Club (Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records)
 * 2004 - The Same Pocket, Vol. 1 - The BlueBrass Project (Meantime Lounge Records)

Filmography & TV Appearances

 * Treme series, HBO (2010–2012)
 * Sunshine By The Stars: Celebrating Louisiana Music (2012, PBS)
 * The Hour - Performer (2011)
 * Looking Back on Love: Making Black and White America (2011)
 * The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson - Musical Guest – Episode #8.21 (2011)
 * Conan (2011)
 * Re:Generation (2011)
 * Jeff Beck Honors Les Paul (2010)
 * The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Guest Musician – Episode #19.9 (2010)
 * Jimmy Kimmel Live! - Musical Guest - Episode #9.12 (2010)
 * Live from the Artists Den (2010)
 * Late Show with David Letterman - Musical Guest - (2010)
 * Tavis Smiley – Episode dated 18 May (2010)
 * After Hours with Daniel Boulud (2008)
 * Trombone Shorty Documentary / short film (2008 FXF productions)
 * Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip episode "The Christmas Show" (2006, Warner Bros. Entertainment)
 * Make It Funky! (various artists of New Orleans) (2005, Sony Pictures Entertainment)
 * Soundmix: Five Young Musicians (2004)
 * America's Heart and Soul Documentary (2004, Walt Disney Pictures)