The Chris Moeller Archives

Trombone Shorty - The A-Train Concert Series - by Aaron Moeller

I have seen the future of jazz and it is Trombone Shorty.

Project yourself into the future and imagine yourself as an older person remembering yourself back then (as a younger person) and having recalled those futuristic words from the past. What? Oh, nevermind. Jazz, in 2009, has little to zero mainstream visibility, but the guy who's destined to change all that was in Iowa City last weekend for their annual 4th of July Jazz Festival.

Your kindly blog host, Chris, and I are a couple years into a Travel-to-New-Orleans-every-April-for-their-Jazz-Fest tradition so we knew the man's name. This spring we attended two days of the N'awlins festival on afternoons when Shorty wasn't on the bill but I still spotted a half dozen fan t-shirts warning of his presence.

Real name Troy Andrews, Trombone Shorty has a six-man backing band, Orleans Avenue, and the oldest member tops out at 26. A bandleader since he was six, Shorty hit the stage singing and blowing his trombone as his proto-funk jazz band took over the penultimate slot on the Saturday night bill. A cover of "American Woman" was a nod to a tour of duty Shorty spent with Lenny Kravitz' band in '07. He also performed with U2 and Green Day a couple years ago at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, so the 23-year-old has already been on mega-star-caliber world stages.

And it was hot jazz - funky and strutting, with Shorty on his trombone but proving equally adept on a trumpet. Shorty wasn't afraid to goose the large percentage of gray beards in the crowd, many reading and relaxing. But they were jolted to attention and many deserted their lawn chairs on the expansive Old Capital lawn in rout to the stage. He played showman, gesturing to his bandmates, calling out for solos, acting the crazed conductor of a cosmic street band to his crew of Big Easy compatriots. He'd alternately square off with Mike Ballard, aka "Bass in Your Face", guitarist Pete Murano, and saxaphonist Trixie, standing toe-to-toe at the microphones, pushing his cohorts to higher levels of Funkicity.

A tribute to the recently passed Michael Jackson included a medley that moved seemlessly from "Rock With You" to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" to "Bad", and included Shorty not only blowing soulful, melodic hooks, but moonwalking across the stage. He introduced a special guest as his personal hero - fellow trombonist, Robin Eubanks, brother of Kevin Eubanks (who is bandleader of the Tonight Show Band), and 20% of the Dave Holland Quintet, Sunday night's headliner. A trombone war ensued as the two blew fierce and fly into the same microphone, laying out as casualties everybody who dared stand within 20 feet of the stage.

"We are from New Orleans, Louisiana," Trombone Shorty declared before launching into the Crescent City's theme song, then Shorty and his two sax-playing, fellow saints came marching off the back of the stage, reappearing seconds later at stage left and strutting into the midst of the growing crowd, more and more people pushing toward the stage. Then they led a procession up the center sidewalk where everyone either snapped photos with their cell phone or fell in behind and joined the parade, surely an Iowa City Jazz Festival first. Five minutes, or maybe a half hour later, Shorty was back at his microphone, resurrecting Satchmo's ghost with his most gruff-voiced homage.

For the encore, Shorty told us he wanted to do something special for us, so Troy and the boys gathered in a huddle in the middle of the stage and planned their aural attack. When the pack broke, Shorty went to the drumkit, guitarist Murano grabbed a saxophone, saxmen Trixie and Dan Oestreicher picked up the bass and electric guitars respectively, drummer Joey Peeples picked up an idle sax, and percussionist Dwayne Williams and "Bass in Your Face" stood stage center with the trumpet and trombone. The sound that was then loosed on the Jazz Fest crowd was rough and jarring, but as electric as anything that came before it. Leaving behind the unusual coolness of a Midwest Independence Day, it was suddenly hotter, and the whole event seemed altered - latitude-wise - as we moved one last time, toward the Quarter, our feet a good six inches above Orleans Avenue. Simply one of the most thrilling and unique music experiences of my life.

posted by Anonymous @ 3:39 PM