A biography for Trombone Shortyhasn’t been written yet.
“We really practice music and work really hard. Sometimes we'll leave at six in the morning, and we started at three the day before.”
“I was given a horn at an early age. I never really got a chance to think about doing anything else until I was about 18, when I realized I could do something else if I wanted to. In my teens, I was rolling in it.”
“I didn't grow up during the time that Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis and all those people were playing. So it's not really my responsibility to keep it up, what they were doing.”
“As a musician, as a horn player, sometimes I even get bored listening to all instrumental music.”
“I had a lot of older musicians looking out for me, teaching me, and showing me things when they saw how interested I was in music from a young age. They would take me to the side and just play some things in my ear, and I would try to play it back to them.”
“I've lost a bunch of friends - some of them in jail, some of them made bad choices, some of them aren't where they should be.”
“One thing I've learned in life is that natural talent only takes you so far, and I've always wanted to grow.”
“Whenever I go jamming, people are looking to cut me. The young ones learn my stuff and come play it at me, and I have to learn other stuff. I feel a lot of pressure. But it's cool. It's a good pressure.”
“Whatever fame or success we have right now came strictly from us playing. As long as we focus on music and not trying to be stars, I think we'll be okay.”
“You've got different people that have different views of New Orleans. When you say 'New Orleans,' you have people who just think of the Neville Brothers. You've got people that think of Louis Armstrong. You say 'New Orleans,' and you've got people that think of Lil' Wayne.”
“I'm very proud of my band and my musicians.”
“I just wanted to keep growing and touring with my band.”
“Being jazz-trained, things happen spontaneously. Even though it's funk rock, we still have the instincts of a jazz musician.”
“Music should be pushed forward.”
“My parents pushed me toward trombone because they didn't need another trumpet player.”
“Certain jazz musicians just copy what was done 100 years ago. The music won't grow if nobody takes a risk.”
“From the food to the Mardi Gras Indians to the brass bands and the second liners parading through the street, Jazz Fest presents New Orleans in one place.”
“When I play the trumpet, I'm in a different character.”
“I've grown up in the Treme, and I played in a bunch of brass bands. My brother, James Andrews, had a brass band.”
“Since I'm born here, my music will always have some New Orleans elements.”