"Shortyville" - Trombone Shorty

"Shortyville" (PDF) from the Trombone Shorty album, Say That To Say This.

(2023 revision):
It’s fitting for an album that was co-produced by Trombone Shorty and Raphael Saadiq to end with a collaborative jam between two remarkably similar musicians. Both artists were brought up in musical families, learned their primary instrument at an early age - Shorty at the age of four while Saadiq began at six - and had already toured the world by the time they became adults. If the goal of Say That To Say This was to elevate Shorty’s career to match that of the accomplished bassist, then his performance on “Shortyville” alone is a testament to the level of artistry behind Saadiq’s production.

In addition to writing and performing all of the horn parts on the entire album, Trombone Shorty plays the drum kit on “Shortyville” and is responsible for the signature groove that brings the album to its close. In fact, it's the tune’s melodic breaks and beat drops that provide the album’s actual show-stopping moments. Within the fading echo of a soaring trumpet, Saadiq’s work shines in Shorty’s performance, revealing the honest artist who solely resides in Shortyville - population: one.

Here is a YouTube video of “Shortyville” as the closing number of Trombone Shorty’s live show:

Recommended reading: Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews. Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.