Quarter , I brought him to hear everybody ,” James says . “ Earth , Wind and Fire , Luther Vandross , everything that I wanted to go to , but I had to watch him because my mom was going out with my dad that night … to the same show , come to find out .”
When Troy learned to play , James put him in a little suit and brought him on tour . He took him all over the world : Dubai , Paris , Turkey , Cuba . He was learning the New Orleans music that made his brother famous , but also the kind of tireless professionalism that presently allows him to play two consecutive sets before going back to the studio to record the next morning .
At the age of four , Shorty appeared onstage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival . He was a bandleader by age six . In between international travel , he started his first real band , the Tiny Tunes , marching around the French Quarter for tips . He could play anything , and since no one was playing trombone , he picked it up . When he first started playing , the trombone was twice his height , hence his nickname “ Trombone Shorty .”
They may have been filled with music , but the streets of the Tremé were dangerous . When Andrews was ten , his older brother , Darnell , also
an accomplished trombone player , was shot and killed in the nearby Lafitte housing projects . “ I guess I kind of took his spot ,” Andrews says . Bands like Rebirth and Bonerama were taking traditional jazz and mixing them with funk , but few received national recognition .
After Darnell ’ s death , Susan Scott , a local businesswoman who was managing James at the time , took Shorty in . Her stewardship is credited with Andrews ’ exposure and professionalism that kept him from the same pitfalls of his talented local contemporaries . She had a sterling reputation in the city and he still wonders what his life would have been like without his second mom and guardian angel . Unfortunately , she died of cancer in 2007 . “ I have a bunch of cousins , and friends , and people who grew up with me who didn ’ t have the same opportunity ,” Shorty says . “ I ’ ve lost a bunch of friends . Some of them are in jail , some of them made bad choices , and some of them aren ’ t where they should be . If I didn ’ t have her , I could see myself being where they are now .”
She arranged for him to audition at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts , where he played with his future drummer and bassist . He learned standard notation and acquired a theoretical discipline that set him apart from some
Celebrating the Mighty Mississippi
July 23rd , 2022 nolariverfest . org www . FrenchQuarterly . com Summer 2022 | 29