Trombone Shorty

Troy Andrews loves his neighborhood of Treme in the city of New Orleans. He loves the music, food, culture, and people. One day, he picks up an old trombone and starts playing it. The trombone is twice as long as he is tall, giving him the nickname "Trombone Shorty." He goes on to create his own band "Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue" and becomes an international sensation.

I loved this story. I liked how the text is small and the characters seem larger than life. Reading the book made me want to get up dance and be with loved ones. The characters are colored and illustrated to look like real people. The spirit of New Orleans is captured so well in this book, and it's just a fun read that inspires hope. As long as one has a zest for show more life and chases his or her dreams, he or she can do anything, and this biography emphasizes that fact. show less

I thought this was a wonderful autobiography about a young boy achieving his dreams. Trombone Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, tells of his life growing up a poor African American boy in New Orleans. His first instrument was a broken trombone he taught himself to play. He and his friends made instruments out of random items and Mardi Gras beads and had the time of their lives, because they had each other. Trombone Shorty has a loving family who supported him and his dreams. His talents did not go unnoticed, and he got his big break playing with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. From then on, he formed his own band, and played with greats such as Lenny Kravitz, Green Day, Prince, and B.B. King. He even played for former show more President of the U.S. Barack Obama. This is an inspirational story about never giving up on pursuing your dreams and would be a great book to use to encourage children to do just that: pursue their dreams no matter how hard it may seem to achieve them. This book can also be used in school lessons or public library events about music, specifically jazz music.

Genre: Biography (Autobiography) show less

This is a great book about local jazz musician, Troy Andrews. The words are lovely, they flow, and almost have a melody.
The language felt like home, with familiar terms such as "gumbo", "Mardi gras", and "Where ya at?". I read the book twice and truly enjoyed it. Troy Andrews himself wrote this book, so of course it sounds like music! Written in first person, the voice is that of a young boy growing up in historic Treme. He vividly describes how his love of music began, and how he learned to play his instrument. He also lets the reader know about his city, his culture, his family, his thoughts, and his feelings. He tells us how and why his big brother proudly gave him the nickname, Trombone Shorty, when he was small. Although this is show more a picture book, it actually brought me to tears! Maybe I got emotional because my son also creates music, and my wish for him is to be able to do what he loves on a professional level one day. The story shows us that although the neighborhood was poor, it was rich with culture. He shares snippets of his life, and takes us all the way into his adulthood, where he is traveling around the world performing. I chose this book because I saw him perform at the Jazz festival, and wondered about his background. I would 100% recommend this book to NOLA natives, to everyone who loves jazz, and to anyone that loves a great story and beautiful art. show less

"Trombone Shorty" a picture book autobiography tells the story of Troy Andrews and how he became Trombone Shorty while living in New Orleans. Here in New Orleans we have a different way of talking and a deep connection to music. This books showed some of the most wonderful and festive things about New Orleans and highlighted music, food, fun and festivals in a a beautifully illustrated book. The first hand account of how Troy Andrews received the nickname of Trombone Shorty makes you feel like you are right in the city with him, playing the trombone and finding his footing on the music scene.

This would be a great book for intermediate students. It tells the story of a young boy who grows up in Treme, New Orleans, where he lived surrounded by a musical culture that inspired an aspiration to be a musician within him. He becomes known as "Trombone Shorty" because he begins playing a trombone that is bigger than he is, and works throughout his life to learn about and play all the music he can. To this day he returns to New Oreleans to play in the jazz music festivals held there. This book is helpful because of the beautiful way it presents the power of jazz music and the author's culture. I would use this book when teaching a lesson about music, because of how it presents finding a love for the music one hears around them and show more striving to make it themselves. show less

I loved this story. I loved this true life story of a Black boy from New Orleans who looks at his heritage as he looks to the future. More real stories like this are needed for our kids. Add to the story the fantastic illustrations and this book is a solid 5 stars.

How did he get that name, Trombone Shorty? Growing up in New Orleans in Treme, Troy Andrews knew brass bands if he didn't know anything else. The sounds of the brass instruments would whip through the streets of his neighborhood any day of the week and any time of the day. His big brother James played in a brass band and Troy wanted to be just like his big brother. He and some of his neighborhood "potnas" formed their own band, finding things to simulate real instruments. Then, the unexpected happened. Troy found trombone. Oh, how he loved that trombone! Even though it was longer than he was tall, he carried that thing everywhere, even playing alongside he big brother as he played in the brass band second lines. Who is that little dude show more playing that trombone? James answered one day, " Oh, that's my little brother...Trombone Shorty!" And it's been that ever since. show less