Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue brought the N’awlins flavor to The Egg in Albany on Wednesday, June 14 to the delight of a sold out audience. Troy Andrews AKA Trombone Shorty and friends made jaws drop by their range in abilities and genres in which they proved to be fluent.
The once brass prodigy now household name, arrived on stage to a surprisingly hard rock sound with blinding lights and funky riffs from band mate Pete Murano. It was certainly not the typical “N’Awlins” intro one might expect, but added a certain level of intrigue that would continue throughout the nearly 90-minute set.
From funk to blues to R&B and soul, each song brought a new variation but with the consistent Louisiana street party the crowd came to see. Andrew’s ability to seamlessly move between trumpet, tambourine, vocals, drums and of course, trombone, highlighted the musical Renaissance Man’s many talents.
The largely middle-aged crowd was shy at first, sitting politely while bopping along to the rhythm, but it took almost no time to move them to their feet. Andrews engaged the fans with call and response vocals, and naturally handed out beads to the excited ladies in the front row.
Each of the six members of the band had many opportunities to showcase their talents. BK Jackson on tenor sax along with his brass partner Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax worked their magic as both musicians and dancers, gliding across the stage with ease while muscling through some impressive solos. Michael Baily practically did an army crawl across the stage while thudding the bass, his CamelBack strapped on only adding to his masculine charisma.
Song selections sprawled across the board including old favorites like “Where Y’At” and new songs like “Where it At” from their latest album “Parking Lot Symphony.” Andrews “took it to the bridge” with James Brown samples as he moonwalked across the stage, sending the crowd into a loud roar.
Their rainbow lights that splashed across the interior walls of The Egg served as street lamps as they paraded into the crowd to Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints go Marching In,” a true staple of The Big Easy.
“We’re going to have to come back to Albany more often,” said Andrews to end the incredible evening.
