Trombone Shorty
Jalen Ngonda

He got his first trombone aged 3, debuted on stage aged 4 (with none other than legend Bo Diddley) and started his own band aged 7. The music of Troy Andrew, a.k.a. Trombone Shorty, is part and parcel of the life he's led almost since the day he was born. The nickname from his youth stuck from the outset, but now aged 38, Trombone Shorty is practically an institution in New Orleans. This unrivalled instrumentalist and even singer has built a reputation — on the back of his innumerable concert performances — for being an inveterate showman. As his popularity has grown, Trombone Shorty has increasingly spent time mentoring new generations of musicians and has gained a rare degree of renown among jazz musicians. Although this hasn't prevented this tireless striver on a never-ending journey of self-improvement from regularly releasing new albums and from exploring styles such as pop and rock, as demonstrated by Lifted, which came out the year of his last appearance at the Théâtre Antique in 2022. Whatever the occasion or the repertoire, a Trombone Shorty concert never fails to be memorable and this will be no exception!

Will there ever be a period as vibrant and exciting as the golden age of 1960-70s soul? After the nu-soul mini revolution of the late 1990s, soul and R&B seemed to have progressively faded into the background in the opening years of the new millenium. Yet, recently, a new wave of artists has emerged and rather than picking things up from where D'Angelo, Erykah and Badu left them, they have returned to the roots and the triumphant years of historic labels such as Motown and Staxx. From the very release of Come Around And Love Me, his first album on the famous Daptone label, it has been obvious that Jalen Ngonda is a name to remember. With his deeply moving vocals — shimmering which the legacy of past legends (Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield top on this list), he is among the select few to have forged his own vocal style from this timelessly charming aesthetic. His grand, hallmark arrangements create a striking contrast and bridge the past and present of Great Black Music.

Line-up :

• Jalen Ngonda (vocals, guitar)
• James McKone (bass)
• Ben McKone (drums)