| Backatown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 April 2010 | |||
| Studio | The Gumbo Room, New Orleans | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 43:12 | |||
| Label | Verve Forecast | |||
| Producer | Ben Ellman | |||
| Trombone Shorty chronology | ||||
| ||||
Backatown is an album released by jazz musician Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews. The album was released in 2010 by Verve Forecast Records and was produced by Galactic's Ben Ellman. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
What we tried to do with the record is capture what we do live and then just tighten it up a little bit, make it translate on record. Live, we may come across some stuff and jam on it, but the record brings it in and focuses on what we needed to do. We worked hard and we didn't rush it. I think we alright with this one.
Backatown represents Andrews's national [2] and major label debut. [3] The tracks "In the 6th", "Hurricane Season" and "Backatown" pay homage to the culture and neighborhoods of New Orleans, Andrews hometown. [4] He refers to his diverse musical style as 'supafunkrock'. [5]
The album was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album [6] but lost to the Stanley Clarke album The Stanley Clarke Band . [7]
Andrews is supported by his band Orleans Avenue: bassist Mike Ballard, guitarist Pete Murano, saxophonist Dan Oestreicher, drummer Joey Peebles, and percussionist Dwayne Williams. [8] Andrews plays trombone and trumpet [9] and provides lead vocals on five tracks. [10]
Lenny Kravitz, who Andrews apprenticed under [2] as a member of his backing band, [11] plays guitar and sings backup on "Something Beautiful". [1] Marc Broussard contributes backing vocals on "Right to Complain". [9] Allen Toussaint plays piano [8] on the only cover song, a reworking of his own "On Your Way Down". [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [8] |
| Rolling Stone |  [12] |
| Billboard | 89/100 [13] |
Nate Chinen said in The New York Times that the album is "more polished and less thrilling than Trombone Shorty's live shows" but goes on to call it "firm in its purpose with swagger to spare". He closed his review with "It's a sound born of New Orleans, unmistakably, and if it heralds an ambitious ascent, it also attests to an unbroken spirit." [9]
Noting the wide appeal of Backatown, Carla Meyer of The Sacramento Bee wrote that it "provides comfort for fans of jazz, rock, pop, funk and however you want to classify James Bond theme music". [5] Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post compared Andrews's vocals to Stevie Wonder and noted that the album has "second-line rhythm that could only come from New Orleans". [10]
Thom Jurek of Allmusic called the music "aural gumbo" and the album a "fingerpopping, butt-shakin' mix set" that "crackles and burns with an unburdened, unfettered, passionate live feel". He went on to call it "everything popular American music should be". [8] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone said the album is "both deeply rooted and culturally omnivorous" and referred to Andrews as "a Katrina survivor trying to hold on to the old while building the new". [12]
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | German Albums Chart | 96 [14] |
| US Billboard Jazz Albums | 3 [15] | |
| US Billboard Top Heatseekers | 6 [15] | |
| 2011 | Spanish Albums Chart | 77 [16] |
Galactic is an American funk band from New Orleans, Louisiana.
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The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1983 by Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, Kermit Ruffins, and classmates from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School, which closed in the spring of 2018, in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans. Arhoolie released its first album in 1984.
Oh, My NOLA is an album from Harry Connick Jr. with his big band. The album was released in 2007, and contains well-known songs associated with New Orleans, as well as 4 new songs composed by Connick, who sings and plays the piano, conducts, arranges and orchestrates the album.
Troy Andrews, also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is a musician, most notably a trombone player, from New Orleans, Louisiana. His music fuses rock, pop, jazz, funk, and hip hop.
Dumpstaphunk is a funk and jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
Steve Reynolds is an American, New Orleans-based audio engineer and record producer. Formerly a co-owner of Ultrasonic Studios, Reynolds has worked with such artists as Rebirth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Kermit Ruffins, and The Radiators. In 2004, under the name of Tangle Eye, Reynolds and fellow New Orleans producer Scott Billington created Alan Lomax's Southern Journey Remixed, a funk, hip-hop, and bluegrass remix of Alan Lomax's recordings for the Library of Congress.
The Stanley Clarke Band is an album by the Stanley Clarke Band led by jazz bassist Stanley Clarke. It was released by Heads Up Record in June 2010 and was produced by Clarke and Lenny White. Band members include Ruslan Sirota on keyboard, Ronald Bruner, Jr. on drums and featured performer Hiromi on piano.
Now Is the Time is a jazz album released by Jeff Lorber Fusion. The album was released in 2010 on Heads Up Records and was produced by Jeff Lorber, Bobby Colomby, and Jimmy Haslip. It was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
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Lay Your Burden Down is a studio album by Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 2009 through Alligator Records. The album ranked number five on Billboards Top Blues Albums. In 2010, the album earned Buckwheat Zydeco the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album. This is Buckwheat Zydeco's first record with Alligator Records and was produced by Steve Berlin, who produced his 1994 album Five Card Stud.
For True is a studio album by American jazz musician Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews. The album was released on September 13, 2011 on Verve Forecast Records as a follow-up to his major label debut, Backatown (2010). It reached number 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was his first album to chart on the Billboard 200.
Say That to Say This is an album by Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews. It was his third album for Verve Records, and was co-produced by Raphael Saadiq. The AllMusic reviewer concluded: "with all of its confidence, production polish, and sophistication, this is the album that should break Trombone Shorty to a much wider, more diverse audience."
This is the discography for American R&B-jazz musician Allen Toussaint.
James Andrews is an American musician from New Orleans. He is from a musical family; he is the grandson of Jesse Hill, the older brother of Troy Andrews, and cousin of Glen David Andrews and the late Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill. A trumpeter and vocalist, Andrews has the nickname "Satchmo of the Ghetto". Raised in the Tremé neighborhood, Andrews played in a number of brass bands, including the Treme Brass Band, Junior Olympia Brass Band and the New Birth Brass Band, before launching his own band, James Andrews and the Crescent City Allstars. He also played with the multi-instrumentalist Danny Barker. In 1998, he released the album Satchmo of the Ghetto, which was produced by Allen Toussaint and featured Dr. John on all eleven tracks.
Parking Lot Symphony is the eleventh recording overall by American jazz musician Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and his first studio album on Blue Note Records. The album was produced by Chris Seefried and was released on April 28, 2017 as a follow-up to Say That to Say This (2013). It reached number 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart on May 20 and spent 31 weeks on the chart.
Laid Black is a studio album by American recording artist Marcus Miller. It was released on June 1, 2018 by Blue Note Records. Laid Black was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. The album features collaborations with Trombone Shorty, Jonathan Butler, Take 6, Selah Sue, Kirk Whalum & Alex Han.
Ben Ellman is an American saxophonist, harmonica player, and producer most widely known as a member the New Orleans-based funk band Galactic, with whom he has made eight studio albums. He joined the group in 1994, when they were known as Galactic Prophylactic. Ben also works as a DJ under the name Gypsyphonic Disko, where he mixes New Orleans style funk with klezmer, Eastern European and other exotic music.
We Are is the sixth studio album by Jon Batiste. It was released on Verve Records on March 19, 2021. In April 2022, We Are won Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards; it earned Batiste nine nominations in total, with five wins.
City That Care Forgot is the first full-length studio album by American musician Dr. John and his band the Lower 911. It was released on June 3, 2008, via 429 Records/Cooking Vinyl. Recording sessions took place at Dockside Studio in Maurice, with additional recording at The Music Shed in New Orleans, Pedernales Studio in Spicewood and Legacy Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Jeff Jones, Herman Ernest III and Dr. John himself. It features guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Terence Blanchard, Ani DiFranco, James Andrews, Terrance Simien, Trombone Shorty and Willie Nelson.
