New Orleans to come alive

The sounds of New Orleans come alive on the MPAC stage when Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue march into Morristown on Tuesday, October 15 at 8 pm. Tickets are $39-$79.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m.

Part Jimi Hendrix, part James Brown and all New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty"Andrews is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. He has gained international acclaim for his trombone and trumpet virtuosity, his songwriting and his ability to blend traditional New Orleans styles with rock, funk, soul and hip-hop. Andrews' high-energy live shows have drawn unanimous raves worldwide with Rolling Stone calling him a "must-see act."

Trombone Shorty was raised in one of the Tremé's most musical families. Andrews got his name when he picked up his instrument at four ("My parents pushed me toward trombone because they didn't need another trumpet player," he laughs). By eight, he led his own band in parades, halls and even bars: "They'd have to lock the door so the police couldn't come in." Promoters would try to hand money to his older cousins, but they'd kindly redirect them to the boy. In his teens, Andrews played shows abroad with the Neville Brothers. Fresh out of high school (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) he joined Lenny Kravitz' band.

Across that time, three Trombone Shorty albums and many collaborations since, Andrews nurtured a voracious appetite for all types of music. His latest release, Parking Lot Symphony, branches out wildly, wonderfully, funkily across 12 diverse cuts. True to its title, this album contains multitudes of sound-from brass band blare and deep-groove funk, to bluesy beauty and hip-hop/pop swagger-and plenty of emotion all anchored, of course, by stellar playing and the idea that, even in the toughest of times, as Andrews says, "Music brings unity."