Trombone Shorty

Troy Andrews was born into a family of New Orleans musicians. A musical prodigy, he was nicknamed Trombone Shorty when he started playing professional gigs at the age of eight. Andrews was born and bred in the Treme district of New Orleans, an older neighborhood that benefited from being on higher ground when Hurricane Katrina hit. One of the few modern jazz artists signed to the storied Verve label, Trombone Shorty has developed a full band sound that mixes in various New Orleans styles -- stomping jazz and laid-back R&B, crunching rock guitars and flowing rap rhymes, frenetic funk and funeral laments. His music proves that good-time party songs can still bring individuals, neighborhoods and generations together. Trombone Shorty and the Treme district became part of an HBO TV series named after the neighborhood that was started by MacArthur Genius Award winner David Simon in 2010.