Like a Hurricane

Troy Andrews, who performs as Trombone Shorty, owns an apartment in Baton Rouge—“In case we have to run from another one of those storms,” he says—but the 25-year-old New Orleans native is never there.

Andrews has been everywhere else in the last 18 months. He has toured five continents and countless countries in support of a Grammy-nominated, age-defining collection called Backatown, his record with band Orleans Avenue that hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Jazz chart twice in the span of a year.

The Count Basie swells and speakeasy hollers of album opener “Hurricane Season,” Backatown, along with his appearances on HBO’s hit series Treme, have lit a fuse on the innovative young hornblower’s career. You just won’t catch him calling it jazz.

“As long as people like it, I don’t care what they call it,” Andrews says. “I’m definitely influenced by jazz, but to me the music is a representation of what New Orleans is—a gumbo pot. Maybe it’s a horn solo instead of a guitar solo, you know, but there’s improv in everything.”

As post-modern and genre-bending as Backatown can be, Andrews still listens to New Orleans icon Louis Armstrong almost every day. Only there’s Jay-Z, Juvenile and Lenny Kravitz, too. As a toddler growing up in a musical family in Treme, Andrews once climbed completely into a tuba, where his parents found him hiding contentedly in the bell. Drum sets were his playground. He began playing trombone at age 4 when the instrument was far longer than he was tall. His older brother James began calling him “Trombone Shorty,” and the stage name stuck.

The past year has seen his star rise and earned Andrews collaborations with Kravitz, Mos Def, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and Jeff Beck. Touring the world may have made Andrews an ambassador for his hometown, but his next goal is to give back.

“My job is to impact younger generations,” Andrews says. “My family always had instruments around, but not everyone is in that position. I want to help kids who want to get their hands on instruments.”

Returning to a gig Andrews has only missed once since his youth, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue perform live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Saturday, May 7.

“My favorite part of Jazz Fest is playing in my hometown and seeing hometown people and friends I’ve made on tour and fans all coming together,” Andrews says. “It’s a great feeling, and of course, I get to listen to some amazing music legends myself. That’s musical heaven right there.”

tromboneshorty.com