TROMBONE SHORTY - FOR TRUE (LP)

Trombone Shorty For True on LP

Since the release of their Grammy-nominated 2010 debut album, Backatown, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have grown creatively while winning hordes of new fans performing nonstop on five continents. Their new Verve Forecast album, For True, offers substantive proof of their explosive growth, further refining the signature sound Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews has dubbed "Supafunkrock."

The band: Mike Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey Peebles on drums, Dwayne Williams on percussion, Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax and Tim McFatter on tenor sax, stirs together old-school New Orleans jazz, funk and soul, laced with hard-rock power chords and hip-hop beats, and they've added some tangy new ingredients on For True as they keep pushing the envelope, exploring new musical territory.

Andrews wrote or co-wrote all 14 tracks on the new album, including collaborating with the legendary Lamont Dozier on "Encore," while this time playing as much trumpet as trombone, as well as organ, drums, piano, keys, synth bass and percussion. Indeed, he played every part on the swaying, Latin-tinged "Unc." He's also come into his own as a singer, honoring the hallowed legacy of the great soul men of the 1960s and '70s. Like its predecessor, the new album turns on a rare combination of virtuosity and high-energy, party-down intensity.

Among the special guests are longtime NOLA cohorts like Ivan and Cyril Neville (who bring their trademark sound to "Nervis"); Galactic's Ben Ellman, reprising his producer's role on Backatown (percussion on opener "Buckjump," harmonica on "Big 12") and Stanton Moore (drumming on "Lagniappe Part 1" and "Part 2"); bounce rapper 5th Ward Weebie and the Rebirth Brass Band (who team up on "Buckjump") and Troy's longtime friend Charles Smith (who adds percussion to the same track).

The album also bears the fruit of more recent relationships Lenny Kravitz (who plays bass on "Roses"), has the longest-standing bond with Andrews, discovering the then-teenage prodigy in 2005 and taking him on tour with his band. Kid Rock (whose vocal is featured on "Mrs. Orleans") came out to see Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at an outdoor show early this year in NOLA, and a month later Troy joined the star onstage at Jazz Fest.

Andrews played with Warren Haynes (whose eruptive solo further heats up "Encore") at his annual benefit and again at the guitarist's Mahalia Jackson Theatre all-star event during this year's Jazz Fest. Ledisi (who sings on "Then There Was You"), met Troy at the 2010 Grammys, later came out to see him in New Orleans and was later featured in a segment for the landmark "Red Hot + New Orleans" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, for which Andrews served as musical director. His relationship with Jeff Beck (check out his blistering solo on "Do to Me") has also blossomed since the guitar legend came to Troy's late-night post-Jazz Fest show at Tipitina's in 2010.

Trombone Shorty For True Track Listing:

1.  Buckjump
2.  Encore
3.  For True
4.  Do To Me
5.  Lagniappe (Part 1)
6.  The Craziest Thing
7.  Dumaine St.
8.  Mrs. Orleans
9.  Nervis
10. Roses
11. Big 12
12. Unc
13. Then There Was You
14. Lagniappe (Part 2)