James Andrews
of his more freewheeling colleagues who learned to play on the street .
In 2004 , Lenny Kravitz was looking to fill out his horn section with some New Orleans brass . He called his friend Sidney Torres , a New Orleans businessman , hotelier , and actor . Torres suggested to call on Shorty . Kravitz questioned , “ How could an eighteen-year-old have soul ?” But when he heard him play for the first time , he literally fell to his knees .
When Katrina hit in 2005 , 19-year-old Andrews was on an international tour with Lenny Kravitz . No one knew whether the city of New Orleans would survive . Musicians lost their homes , their instruments , and their patrons , and the city ’ s long obsession with preserving its culture became a desperate struggle .
Andrews came back eight months later and played a show at the House of Blues to a city still just barely holding on . He had developed considerably . His time in the horn section with Kravitz had given him discipline and rock-star performance chops , and it became clear that his sound was evolving into something uniquely new .
Eventually , the city started doing something similar . It might have been stagnating before , but now it routinely appears on lists of hot cities for start-ups and investment . It ’ s become ground zero for educational reform . A local joke was that New Orleans had a thousand restaurants but only one menu ; now dozens of restaurants new and old are realizing that the standards don ’ t cut it anymore . “ Everything was wiped out ,” Andrews says . “ Everyone had to struggle to get back to a steady pace . But it ’ s changing in a way where we don ’ t want it to be the same New Orleans that it was , we want to be better in every aspect . Business , music , restaurants , whatever it may be .”
Troy “ Trombone Shorty ” Andrews ’ profile has only grown since . Stars from Allen Toussaint to the Edge have sung his praises , and he ’ s played with U2 , Green Day , and the Dave Matthews Band . He and his band , Orleans Avenue , have played to audiences as big as twenty thousand in places as far away as Australia . His 2010 album , Backatown , was # 1 on the Billboard magazine ’ s Contemporary Jazz chart for nine weeks and got nominated for a Grammy .
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue has toured across Australia , North America , Europe , Japan and Brazil . They performed on all the late-night television shows and at the White House twice . They have recorded with Galactic , Eric Clapton , and Dr . John and toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters , among many others . In spite of his stardom , Shorty has lived in New Orleans all his life .
As a way to preserve the city ’ s musical culture and inspire future generations of musicians , Troy Andrews established the Trombone Shorty Foundation and its flagship music education program , the Trombone Shorty Academy . The Academy supports musically inclined youth , providing high school musicians with mentorships and lessons in musical performance ranging from traditional jazz to hip-hop . The Fredman Music Business Institute , another program within the Trombone Shorty Foundation , delivers practical business instruction from music industry leaders . Creating and nurturing future leaders in hospitality , music , arts and culture will help ensure the sights , sounds , and tastes of New Orleans will remain well into the next century . For a city that ’ s been setting the table , shaking the cocktails and creating the beat for 300 years , it ’ s the only way to go .
30 | The French Quarterly