In the midst of his second European tour in the last six months Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews) was joined by his mentor and former bandleader Lenny Kravitz, who surprised Troy’s fans onstage in Paris on October 13th to sit in on drums. This was followed by a late-night session in the studio, where Andrews added some touches to Mr. Kravitz’ upcoming CD, which already includes horn parts Troy had recorded at Lenny’s studio in Caribbean. Watch it here.
Just two days later, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue launched their UK tour supporting the legendary Jeff Beck, who called Troy and Orleans Avenue sax player Tim McFatter up for his encore on a searing rendition of Sly & the Family Stone’s "I Wanna Take You Higher" (after which Beck shouted out to the audience, “Trombone F***ing Shorty!”).
In the meantime, this weekend PBS will begin airing Trombone Shorty’s debut performance on Austin City Limits, followed on Thanksgiving weekend by PBS’ airing of Jeff Beck’s Les Paul Tribute, which also features Trombone Shorty.
All this and Troy still finds the time to serve as Music Director for two Red Hot + New Orleans concerts presented as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Next Wave Art series. For this salute to the music of the Crescent City, Troy has enlisted Dr. John, Ledisi, Marc Broussard, Partners-N-Crime, Kermit Ruffins and Irma Thomas, among others. Produced in association with the Red Hot Organization in recognition of World AIDS Day (Dec 1), the shows take place at the Howard Gilman Opera House on December 3 and 4. Part of the proceeds will benefit New Orleans’ NO/AIDS Task Force.
Trombone Shorty continues to make touring history supporting the final four dates on Dave Matthews Band’s 2010 tour while he and his Orleans Avenue band crisscross the globe further spreading his patented “Supafunkrock” sound as exemplified on his Verve/Forecast debut, Backatown. Andrews and Orleans Avenue recently soared in their Japanese debut at the acclaimed Fuji Rock Festival, followed by gigs in Rio and São Paolo.
Backatown, at its six month mark, is Billboard’s Greatest Gainer in this week’s top-selling jazz albums chart ranked by sales data compiled by Neilsen Soundscan for the week of October 23, according to Billboard.com. Trombone Shorty’s Backatown leapfrogged Harry Connick Jr.’s Your Songs and the Treme soundtrack gaining two positions, stalwartly standing at # 6 while the band tours Europe.
For a complete list of current tour dates, visit Trombone Shorty's website.
