PLAYER WHO GETS DOWN TO BRASS TACKS

Ambassador for New Orleans reveals why he wants to give back to the city

‘Everything here is music. As soon as you arrive, it is playing. It’s the city’s heartbeat’

He is the current keeper of New Orleans’ legendary musical heritage. First seen blowing up a storm on street parades in his native Treme as an infant, Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews, has played with Stevie Wonder, Prince and Pharrell Williams.

He’s opened on stadium shows for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and U2.

President Obama was such a big fan he had him perform at the White House – five times.

Shorty, 31, says: “It was a tremendous experience to be able to go there because I got to play for him and Mrs Obama and collaborate with some artists that I never thought I would get to play with.

“It was just great to be on stage there and be able to play in front of the President and the First Lady. He’s a pretty cool person, very laid-back and a genuinely nice human being.”

Although Shorty admits that “now is a time of despair” in his homeland, his new album, Parking Lot Symphony – his first in four years and his debut for prestigious jazz label Blue Note – is a spiritlifting contemporary spin on New Orleans’ deep-rooted legacy.

He says: “I look back to Louis Armstrong – he was an entertainer and I try to follow that.

“My brother James planted the seed because he was so influenced by him, and Armstrong always had a sidekick trombone player, so James gave it to me, I think, when I was about four.”

New Orleans is Shorty’s musical birthright and his role as the city’s musical ambassador is one he takes seriously.

“Without the city, I wouldn’t be who I am, and that’s why I feel the responsibility to carry on the traditions that raised me up,” he says.

“I don’t want to wait until I’m extremely old or about to retire from music to give back.

“Everything here is music. As soon as you get off the plane there’s people playing in the airport. Music is the heartbeat of this city.”