Trombone Shorty Signs with Blue Note, To Release Label Debut in April

By DownBeat I Feb. 1, 2017

Trombone Shorty has signed with Blue Note Records. He will release his debut album for the label in April.
(Photo: Jonathan Mannion)

Trombone Shorty has signed with Blue Note Records and will make his debut for the label this April ahead of his appearance at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, where he will perform the closing set.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a funk band that melds elements of brass-band music, rock and traditional jazz. His 2010 album Backatown was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2011. In 2015, he performed at The White House during the National Christmas Tree Lighting. Andrews also made his feature film debut in 2015—using his trombone to voice the sound of the adult characters in the animated film The Peanuts Movie.

More recently, the multi-talented Andrews illustrated has found success as an author. His 2016 autobiography for young readers, Trombone Shorty, was named a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book by the American Library Association. He is also an outspoken advocate of musical education, especially in his hometown. With his own Trombone Shorty Foundation and Music Academy he has worked as a “Turnaround Artist’” with the Turnaround Arts Initiative, a program that helps low-performing schools improve through intensive arts programs.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are currently on tour opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers, including three sold-out shows at both Madison Square Garden in New York City (February 15, 17 and 18) and Staples Center in Los Angeles (March 7, 8 and 10).

For more information on Trombone Shorty’s upcoming release, visit the Blue Note website.

For a full list of tour dates visit tromboneshorty.com/tour. DB