Trombone Shorty: For True (2011)

Troy “Trombone Shorty" Andrews, once again, incorporates all of the fun but none of the fussy formalism of the New Orleans tradition in his new recording, For True.

A contemporary, and vividly frisky, blending of funk, R&B, pop, hip hop, jazz and fusion, Trombone Shorty's second national release is due today from Verve Forecast. Andrews wrote or co-wrote each of the 14 tracks on For True, produced by Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman, and in many ways the album mirrors the talented horn player's Grammy-nominated, Billboard jazz chart-topping 2010 release Backatown. That is to say, it's great dance music—simultaneously aware of its roots, and willing to transcend them.

One in which it doesn't: For True is peppered with guest stars, something that might work to broaden the audience for Andrews—something he richly deserves—but could also, I feared, lead to a compilation-style unevenness. I needn't have. Trombone Shorty, a force of nature, more often than not simply blows past such worries.

“Buckjump," the shotgun-shack rattling opener, pairs Andrews with Rebirth Brass Band—perhaps the most famous of the Crescent City's brass bands—and Fifth Ward Weebie, a local rapper who combines R&B and bounce. The song, goosed along by a rubbery bass line courtesy of Mike Ballard from Andrew's band Orleans Avenue, builds outward from street-parade sass into a repetitive hip-hop cadence that only makes it more irresistibly danceable.

The connection with the New Orleans funk-jazz jam band Galactic, by the way, goes beyond Ellman's work at the mixing board. Drummer Stanton Moore appears on both “Lagniappe Part 1, and Part 2." Moore and Ellman's band mate Robert Mercurio plays bass on “Mrs. Orleans," which also features Kid Rock—who memorably raps about “Fats' rings" and “Endymion kings." And a few of the songs, notably the thumping instrumental “Dumaine Street" (maybe the best cut here), wouldn't sound at out of place on a Galactic project.

“Encore," undulating and aggressively fonky, is punctuated by the wailing slide cry of Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule), and Andrews' Lenny Kravitz-esque vocals. (Kravitz himself plays bass on the subsequent “Roses," a tune that strongly recalls “Show Me Something Beautiful" from Backatown.) “Nervis" is one of those great 1970s-era space-grooves, featuring Ivan Neville (on clavinet!) and uncle Cyril Neville (The Meters, the Neville Brothers). Jeff Beck, with whom Trombone Shorty appeared during this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, stops by for the R&M romp “Do To Me," unleashing a torrent of microtonal brilliance.

I'll double check, but I think that's all of them. His over-stuffed guest list probably speaks as much to Andrews' desire to move beyond convention as it does to the current trend of cravenly appealing to a mass audience by, well, over-stuffing the guest list. Really, though, his is such a unique and doggedly appealing voice—on the trombone, trumpet and mic—that Trombone Shorty scarcely needs the help.

Check out the title track, which smacks of Dick Dale by way of the West Bank, courtesy of a whoa-man surf guitar turn by Pete Murano. The chorus to “The Craziest Things," all whoops and hollers, sounds like a house party, set to a series of impossibly bright brass blasts. “Unc" has a late-night tango-type mystery, while the sensual, stop-start soul of “Then There was You" (featuring singer Ledisi; there's one more!) allows Andrews an opportunity for some muscular, spit-flying outbursts. On “Big 12," he layers horns on top of horns until the entire song trembles with an almost angry menace.

In the end, though they don't necessarily slow Trombone Shorty's momentum on For True, those big names still felt unneeded. There's a combustible energy to his work, a volatile joy, that stands on its own. ~ allaboutjazz.com

Tracklist:

01. Buckjump (feat. Rebirth Brass Band, 5th Ward Weebie, Ben Ellman & Charlie Smith) [04:03]
02. Encore (feat. Warren Haynes - guitar; co-write w/Lamont Dozier) [04:03]
03. For True [02:53]
04. Do To Me (feat. Jeff Beck - guitar) [04:37]
05. Lagniappe Part 1 (feat. Stanton Moore - drums)[01:09]
06. The Craziest Things [03:19]
07. Dumaine St. [02:37]
08. Mrs. Orleans (feat. Kid Rock - vocals; Robert Mercurio - bass) [03:21]
09. Nervis (feat. Ivan Neville - vocals and clavinet; Cyril Neville - vocals) [03:09]
10. Roses (feat. Lenny Kravitz - bass) [03:02]
11. Big 12 (feat. Ben Ellman - harmonica) [03:22]
12. UNC [02:54]
13. Then There Was Tou (feat. Ledisi - vocals) [04:33]
14. Lagniappe Part 2 (feat. Stanton Moore - drums) [01:37]

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Cyril Neville: The Essential (2010)

Cyril Neville maybe the last great voice of New Orleans music. One of the four Neville Brothers, Cyril Neville was the youngest, born on January 10, 1948, in New Orleans, LA. Cyril picked up his love of music from his parents and his older brothers at an early age, but it wasn't until 1967 (at the age of 19) that Cyril began singing professionally, as he united with brothers Art and Aaron in the outfit Art Neville and the Neville Sounds, playing the New Orleans club circuit on a regular basis. Cyril and Aaron eventually left the group, forming another outfit, Soul Machine, shortly thereafter. 1970 saw the release of Cyril's debut solo single, "Gossip" b/w "Tell Me What's On Your Mind," which included backing music by brother Art's new outfit, the Meters. Soul Machine relocated to Nashville, then New York, but both moves failed to help put the group over the top. It just so happened at this time that the Meters were looking to expand their lineup, and asked Cyril to join in on vocals and congas — contributing to such albums as 1972's Cabbage Alley and 1975's Fire on the Bayou, In 74, the Rolling Stones offered The Meters a support slot on the bands sold out tour if they would hire Cyril Neville to sing and front the band. His work as a human rights advocate does not stray far from his art. The joys as well as the complications and frustrations of growing up in the oppressed South can be heard through-out his catalog as a solo Artist as well as his work with his brothers – The Neville Brothers.

Just as the Meters splintered in 1976, all four Neville siblings formed the Neville Brothers group, issuing numerous subsequent recordings. In addition to his work with the Neville Brothers, Cyril has formed other bands over the years, including the Endangered Species Band in 1983 and the Uptown Allstars Band, while he also found time to launch his own record label, Endangered Species. Cyril also founded the New Orleans Musicians Organized (NOMO), which helps musicians who need business advice with their careers. Cyril Neville has issued several solo albums on his own over the years, including 1995's The Fire This Time, and a pair in 2000, New Orleans Cookin' and Soulo. Plus he has guested on various other artist's recordings over the years, including albums by Edie Brickell, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Willie Nelson, Tab Benoit, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux among others.

Tracklist:01 - What Does It Take
02 - Not Like Loving You
03 - Where The Pavement Ends
04 - Helen’s Requiem
05 - Goodbye
06 - Only Life I Know
07 - Second Time Around
08 - Meridian (I Love The Same)
09 - Green Dress
10 - Tonight
11 - Late Night Call

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