Happy Birthday, Trombone Shorty!

Trombone and trumpet player, singer songwriter, producer, actor and philanthropist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was born in New Orleans on January 2, 1986. Andrews grew up in Tremé and comes from an exceptional New Orleans musical family, including his grandfather, singer songwriter Jessie Hill, older brother, trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews, and cousins, trombonist Glen David Andrews and the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill.  He appeared onstage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 4, was a bandleader by age 6, and was a member of the Stooges Brass Band in his teens. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) with fellow New Orleans musician Jon Batiste. In 2005, Andrews toured with Lenny Kravitz as a featured member of the horn section, and since 2009 he has toured with his own band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Notably, in 2010, Andrews released the album Backatown, which was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart for nine consecutive weeks and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Andrews added “actor” to his resumé in 2010, and in 2013, when he appeared in seven episodes of HBO’s Treme series. In 2011, he released For True, in 2013 Say That to Say This, and in 2017 Parking Lot Symphony. In 2018, Andrews received a Blues Foundation Award in the Blues Instrumentalist, Horn Category. 

Andrews has performed with a Who’s Who of musical talent, including The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, U2, Green Day, Rebirth Brass Band, Maceo Parker, Jeff Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gary Clark Jr., Janelle Monáe, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and many, many more. Since 2014, he has built a friendship with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters that has seen them sit in on each other’s performances throughout the years. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue’s annual Tremé Threauxdown (New Orleans) and Voodoo Threauxdown (worldwide) tours bring his amazing music to fans every year. 

Andrews collaborated with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to form the Horns For Schools Project, which ultimately evolved into the Trombone Shorty Foundation, which works "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians." In 2012, the Foundation, in partnership with Tulane University, created an After School Academy in New Orleans to mentor aspiring, high school musicians. In 2016, Andrews received the Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities for “his achievements as a musician and for his community work to preserve and pass on to youger generations the rich musical heritage of his native New Orleans”. Happy birthday to one of the Big Easy’s most talented, charismatic and altruistic musical performers. 

Photo by: I, Information - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infrogmation

Happy Birthday, Trombone Shorty!

Trombone and trumpet player, singer songwriter, producer, actor and philanthropist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was born in New Orleans on January 2, 1986. Andrews grew up in Tremé and comes from an exceptional New Orleans musical family, including his grandfather, singer songwriter Jessie Hill, older brother, trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews, and cousins, trombonist Glen David Andrews and the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill.  He appeared onstage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 4, was a bandleader by age 6, and was a member of the Stooges Brass Band in his teens. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) with fellow New Orleans musician Jon Batiste. In 2005, Andrews toured with Lenny Kravitz as a featured member of the horn section, and since 2009 he has toured with his own band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Notably, in 2010, Andrews released the album Backatown, which was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart for nine consecutive weeks and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Andrews added “actor” to his resumé in 2010, and in 2013, when he appeared in seven episodes of HBO’s Treme series. In 2011, he released For True, in 2013 Say That to Say This, and in 2017 Parking Lot Symphony. In 2018, Andrews received a Blues Foundation Award in the Blues Instrumentalist, Horn Category. 

Andrews has performed with a Who’s Who of musical talent, including The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, U2, Green Day, Rebirth Brass Band, Maceo Parker, Jeff Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gary Clark Jr., Janelle Monáe, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and many, many more. Since 2014, he has built a friendship with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters that has seen them sit in on each other’s performances throughout the years. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue’s annual Tremé Threauxdown (New Orleans) and Voodoo Threauxdown (worldwide) tours bring his amazing music to fans every year. 

Andrews collaborated with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to form the Horns For Schools Project, which ultimately evolved into the Trombone Shorty Foundation, which works "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians." In 2012, the Foundation, in partnership with Tulane University, created an After School Academy in New Orleans to mentor aspiring, high school musicians. In 2016, Andrews received the Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities for “his achievements as a musician and for his community work to preserve and pass on to youger generations the rich musical heritage of his native New Orleans”. Happy birthday to one of the Big Easy’s most talented, charismatic and altruistic musical performers. 

Photo by: I, Information - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infrogmation

Celebrating the Birthday of Kid Ory

Influential early jazz trombonist, bandleader and composer Edward "Kid" Ory was born on December 25, 1886, on Woodland Plantation, near LaPlace, Louisiana. Ory started playing music with homemade instruments in his childhood, was leading a band by his teens, and moved his band to New Orleans when he was twenty-one.  Ory played banjo in his youth, which helped him develop a particular style of trombone playing called “tailgate”, with a rhythmic line underneath the cornets and trumpets. Ory was discovered by Buddy Bolden, and by the 1910s had one of New Orleans’ most well-known bands. He hired many of the City’s greatest jazz musicians including Joe “King” Oliver and Louis Armstrong. 

In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, and in 1921 his band recorded a number of songs, including two instrumentals, “Ory’s Creole Trombone” and “Society Blues”, which were the first jazz recordings made on the West Coast by an African-American band from New Orleans. Ory paid the recording company Nordskog for the pressings and then sold them at Spikes Brothers Music Store in Los Angeles with his own label, "Kid Ory's Sunshine Orchestra". Ory moved to Chicago in 1925 where he worked and recorded with Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Bessie Smith, and many others. He also mentored Benny Goodman and, later, Charles Mingus. Ory retired from music during the Great Depression, running a chicken farm in California during that period. But he returned to music in 1944, leading one of the premier New Orleans-style bands of the time. 

The Ory band helped to revive interest in New Orleans jazz, appearing on popular 1940s radio broadcasts, and in 1944–45 the group made a series of recordings for Crescent Records. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Ory and his group appeared in Los Angeles, and in 1958 he played at 'On the levee' on the San Francisco waterfront. Ory retired from music in 1966 and spent his last years in Hawaii, where he passed away January 23, 1973. He led a remarkable life, which we celebrate today!

Happy Birthday, Delfeayo Marsalis!

Trombonist, producer and educator Delfeayo Marsalis was born in New Orleans on July 28, 1965, and is the son of Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music professor. He is also the grandson of Ellis Marsalis, Sr., and the brother of Wynton Marsalis (trumpeter), Branford Marsalis (saxophonist), and Jason Marsalis (drummer). Delfeayo also has two brothers who are not musicians, Ellis Marsalis III and Mboya Kenyatta. Delfeayo founded the New Orleans-based Uptown Music Theatre in 2000, which has trained over 300 youth and staged eight original musicals, all of which are based upon the mission of "community unity". Delfeayo has recorded 8 of his own albums and is known for his work as a producer of acoustic jazz recordings. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, and in 2004 received an MA in jazz performance from the University of Louisville. Marsalis, with his father and brothers, are group recipients of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award. Today we celebrate the birthday of an incredibly talented musician and producer. Happy Birthday, Delfeayo!

Photo: Delfeayo Marsalis

Happy Birthday, Glen David Andrews!

Trombonist and vocalist Glen David Andrews was born in New Orleans on April 26, 1980. Andrews hails from a musical family, with grandfather Jesse Hill of “Ooh Poo Pa Doo” fame, brother Derrick Tabb of Rebirth Brass Band, cousin of brothers Troy “Trombone Shorty” and James Andrews, and cousin to the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill. Andrews learned about brass bands from greats like Tuba Fats and by second line parades in the Tremé neighborhood of his youth. And, at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Andrews mesmerizes audiences with his showmanship and energy. He is a beloved and charismatic live performer, and today we join in the celebration. Happy Birthday!

Photo: Facebook

Happy Birthday, Trombone Shorty!

Trombone and trumpet player, singer songwriter, producer, actor and philanthropist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was born in New Orleans on January 2, 1986. Andrews grew up in Tremé and comes from an exceptional New Orleans musical family, including his grandfather, singer songwriter Jessie Hill, older brother, trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews, and cousins, trombonist Glen David Andrews and the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill.  He appeared onstage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 4, was a bandleader by age 6, and was a member of the Stooges Brass Band in his teens. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) with fellow New Orleans musician Jon Batiste. In 2005, Andrews toured with Lenny Kravitz as a featured member of the horn section, and since 2009 he has toured with his own band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Notably, in 2010, Andrews released the album Backatown, which was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart for nine consecutive weeks and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Andrews added “actor” to his resumé in 2010, and in 2013, when he appeared in seven episodes of HBO’s Treme series. In 2011, he released For True, in 2013 Say That to Say This, and in 2017 Parking Lot Symphony. In 2018, Andrews received a Blues Foundation Award in the Blues Instrumentalist, Horn Category. 

Andrews has performed with a Who’s Who of musical talent, including The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, U2, Green Day, Rebirth Brass Band, Maceo Parker, Jeff Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gary Clark Jr., Janelle Monáe, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and many, many more. Since 2014, he has built a friendship with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters that has seen them sit in on each other’s performances throughout the years. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue’s annual Tremé Threauxdown (New Orleans) and Voodoo Threauxdown (worldwide) tours bring his amazing music to fans every year. 

Andrews collaborated with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to form the Horns For Schools Project, which ultimately evolved into the Trombone Shorty Foundation, which works "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians." In 2012, the Foundation, in partnership with Tulane University, created an After School Academy in New Orleans to mentor aspiring, high school musicians. In 2016, Andrews received the Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities for “his achievements as a musician and for his community work to preserve and pass on to youger generations the rich musical heritage of his native New Orleans”. Happy birthday to one of the Big Easy’s most talented, charismatic and altruistic musical performers. 

Photo by: I, Information - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infrogmation