Trombone Shorty - For True

A great friend once told me, “If you don’t like mushrooms, don’t eat mushrooms.” I’ve found myself employing this life motto for many years since. If you don’t like something, don’t sweat it. Just don’t do that thing. But sometimes, you just need to give mushrooms another chance. The same could be said for Trombone Shorty’s newest work, For True (Verve Records). Some people just aren’t horn people. But sometimes you need to give them another chance, and this album would be a great place to start.

Raised in the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans’s 6th Ward, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews took to music with the seemingly greatest of ease. Starting at the age of three with drums, then trumpet and eventually landing with, you guessed it, trombone, pretty much all you need to know about Troy’s childhood can be summed up in one picture. Yes, that’s real. And yes, that’s how he got his nickname. Strolling the streets of New Orleans, barely big enough to hold his trombone, Shorty’s musical life story took form, and in the short 25 years since has included more than most musicians could hope for in a lifetime.

Living with an unceasing love for all things music, Shorty has explored the ins and outs of virtually every genre, while never abandoning his roots. Gigging with the likes of Lenny Kravitz, U2, Green Day and Galactic, all while penning seven albums of his own, Shorty has immersed himself in music and everything that’s a part of it. The results? Well, besides accolades like Performer of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Performer (Offbeat), he has the honor of, at age 23, being the youngest artist ever to be pictured on the official poster of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The next youngest: Wynton Marsalis…when he was 41.

You can hear everything that has gone into Shorty’s musical experiences in almost every track on For True. There’s those hints of his time with Kravitz in “Encore,” while also touching on the blues with a guest appearance from blues-rock guitar great Warren Haynes. You can find the Galactic funk in “Buckjump” and “For True” and hip-hop in “Mrs. Orleans.” “Then There Was You” brings in some r&b, and, well, there’s jazz everywhere. But above all there is always that little taste of gumbo that he can’t, and shouldn’t, get away from. It’s in his blood, after all. Parts one and two of the aptly-named “Lagniappe” take you straight down to the French Quarter, and not that spring break one, the classy, cultural and historic one.

Clearly nothing is off limits for Shorty. But don’t be confused, For True is not mismatched. In fact, it’s all put together quite nicely. It will definitely grab you and shake you around a bit, but it doesn’t leave you confused. There is an amazing maturity to it that you might not expect of people twice his age. His writing and playing are tactful, cultured and graceful on one hand and bold and expressive on the other. The only thing it leaves you wondering is what he might possibly accomplish in the next 25 years of his life.

So, yeah, you might not like mushrooms, but before write them off entirely, try this portabello.

Rating
Overall: 3.5/5
Originality: 4/5
Production: 3.5/5
Listenability: 4/5