“Lie To Me” (PDF) from the Trombone Shorty album, Lifted

Trombone Shorty’s new album, Lifted, is the most accurate document of the sound of his band, Orleans Avenue, since its 2005 debut album on Treme Records - showcasing New Orleans’ first post-Katrina class of musicians, including a young Jon Batiste. Shorty’s major label “solo” albums over the following decade found some commercial success with placements in television and advertising, but ultimately fell short of any significant critical achievement - too rock for jazz audiences, too instrumental for pop consumption. Considering his non-stop touring schedule, guest appearances, obligations from the Trombone Shorty Foundation and as a children’s book author, it is easy to see how the production of an album-opus can take a backseat to a busy career.

Perhaps the global shut down due the COVID-19 pandemic was somewhat of a blessing for the Trombone Shorty by affording the bandleader with the standstill time to focus on songwriting and the luxury to acquire a personal recording studio, where he captured his band’s pent-up energy that would have been on spent on travel, media appearances, and festival performances. Add to that the spiritual maturation from the recent loss of his mother, Lifted indeed carries some weight - a concept album that reflects the evolution of Trombone Shorty from the streets of New Orleans to the large-scale production of arena rock.

Here is a YouTube trailer for Trombone Shorty’s latest release on Blue Note Records:

Recommended reading: The 5 O’Clock Band by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. Published by Abrams Books.