When it comes to music, everybody knows how to describe their favorite styles. And it usually just takes one simple phrase … I like jazz. I like hip hop. I like R&B and so on.
Pretty clear and everybody knows what to expect.
And then there’s funk.
Think about it. It’s kind of hard to describe funk. It’s jazz, rap, R&B, hip hop, soul and even rock all rolled up into one.
Yet somehow, you still know what to expect—great music, especially when it comes from a hard-edged funk act like Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Trombone Shorty appears August 29 at Borgata’s Music Box.
Shorty (only his friends call him Trombone … or maybe not) describes his own sound as employing hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition.
You know? Funk.
The group released its third album in fall 2013, “Say That to Say This”, co-produced by Shorty and R&B titan Raphael Saadiq. In 2010, Trombone Shorty released the Grammy-nominated “Backatown“, followed in 2011 by “For True“, which topped Billboard Magazine’s Contemporary Jazz Chart for 12 weeks.
In that short time Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have taken the music scene by storm performing at this year’s Grammy Awards and at the White House.
Not bad for a guy who started playing in Lenny Kravitz horn section in 2005. These days, he’s the guy making headlines for replacing the stolen trombone of a 14 year-old mugging victim in his hometown of New Orleans.
And, of course for the funk. Always for the funk.
Now Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue hit the Atlantic City scene and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the only New Jersey stop on their current tour which has included the Newport Jazz festival (as well as a slew of other jazz festivals) and Lollapalooza. Tickets are $35 and $29.50. Get tickets here.
After all, when you’re looking for some funky trombone jazz music in your life, you can always count on Borgata.