Music
Trombone Shorty: a more sophisticated New Orleans export than twerking
Things that people know about New Orleans: Mardi Gras, Hurricane Katrina, and, thanks (or no thanks) to Miley Cyrus…twerking. Actually, I bet you didn’t know that twerking originated in New Orleans. Either way, it’s time to add Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews to that list.
The last time Trombone Shorty came to London, it was March 2012 and he played the 600-capacity Garage in Highbury. Tomorrow he returns to Camden’s KOKO, and you could say we’re pretty excited. Described by the Washington Post as a “jazz-funk alchemist”, he’s a self-described New Orleans musician. And that’s a genre in itself.
The New Orleans native has literally grown up performing, picking up the trombone and forming a brass band by age six, then touring the world as part of Lenny Kravitz’s horn section after high school. Now, at the ripe old age of 27, he’s racked up an impressive list of performances. In 2006 he performed with U2 and Green Day as they reopened the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and in 2012 he played at the White House alongside B.B. King and Mick Jagger. You may have also spotted him in HBO’s Treme.
So, if you haven’t had the privilege of seeing him on New Orleans’ Frenchmen Street (or even if you have), get down to KOKO and experience Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue for yourself.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue play KOKO on Tuesday 1 October supported by Olivier St. Louis. You can follow his antics on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Check out our favourite Trombone Shorty tracks below.
