Backatown Explained

Backatown
Type:studio
Artist:Trombone Shorty
Cover:Backatown.jpg
Studio:The Gumbo Room, New Orleans
Genre:Jazz
Label:Verve Forecast
Producer:Ben Ellman
Prev Title:Orleans & Claiborne
Prev Year:2005
Next Title:For True
Next Year:2011

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.

Overview

Backatown represents Andrews's national[1] and major label debut.[2] The tracks "In the 6th", "Hurricane Season" and "Backatown" pay homage to the culture and neighborhoods of New Orleans, Andrews hometown.[3] He refers to his diverse musical style as 'supafunkrock'.

The album was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album[4] but lost to the Stanley Clarke album The Stanley Clarke Band.[5]

The band

Andrews is supported by his band Orleans Avenue: bassist Mike Ballard, guitarist Pete Murano, saxophonist Dan Oestreicher, drummer Joey Peebles, and percussionist Dwayne Williams. Andrews plays trombone and trumpet and provides lead vocals on five tracks.

Lenny Kravitz, who Andrews apprenticed under as a member of his backing band,[6] plays guitar and sings backup on "Something Beautiful". Marc Broussard contributes backing vocals on "Right to Complain". Allen Toussaint plays piano on the only cover song, a reworking of his own "On Your Way Down".

Reception

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."[7]

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".[8] 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".[9]

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". 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".

Track listing

  1. "Hurricane Season" (Troy Andrews) 3:20
  2. "On Your Way Down" (Allen Toussaint) 3:36
  3. "Quiet as Kept" (Andrews) 3:05
  4. "Something Beautiful" (Andrews, Ryan Montbleau) 3:42
  5. "Backatown" (Andrews) 2:47
  6. "Right to Complain" (Andrews, PJ Morton) 2:56
  7. "Neph" (Andrews) 3:02
  8. "Suburbia" (Andrews, Mike Ballard, Pete Murano, Joey Peebles) 3:19
  9. "In the 6th" (Andrews, Dan Oestreicher) 3:17
  10. "One Night Only (The March)" (Andrews, Montbleau) 2:49
  11. "Where Y' At" (Andrews, Clarence Slaughter) 2:59
  12. "Fallin'" (Andrews, Morton) 3:46
  13. "The Cure" (Andrews, Ballard, Murano) 3:39
  14. "928 Horn Jam" (Andrews, Oestreicher, Slaughter, Dwayne Williams) 0:55

Personnel

Guest musicians

Production

Charts

YearChartPeak position
2010German Albums Chart96[10]
US Billboard Jazz Albumsalign=center 3[11]
US Billboard Top Heatseekersalign=center 6
2011Spanish Albums Chartalign=center 77[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: After New Orleans Jazz Fest the party continues at New Orleans music clubs. Spera. Keith. The Times-Picayune. 15 March 2011. 29 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629101439/http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2010/04/after_jazz_fest_the_party_cont.html. live.
  2. Book: Herczog. Mary. Schwam. Diana. Frommer's New Orleans 2011. 2011. Frommer's. 978-0-470-88143-9. 100–101.
  3. Web site: Interview - Trombone Shorty: Funk From 'Backatown' New Orleans. Hansen. Liane. 2 May 2010. NPR. 15 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110212094531/http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=126443793. 12 February 2011 .
  4. News: Five artists under the radar at the Grammys. Shriver. Jerry. 7 February 2011. USA Today. 15 March 2011. 11 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110211210658/http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/awards/grammys/2011-02-07-fiveradar07_st_n.htm. live.
  5. Web site: Grammy Winner Stanley Clarke Reflects on His Win And Two Nominations. Hadley. Diane. 14 February 2011. All About Jazz. 15 March 2011. 15 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110215151520/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=75968. live.
  6. News: Trombone Shorty, band long on musical skills. Machosky. Michael. 21 July 2010. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 15 March 2011.
  7. News: New CDs . Chinen . Nate . 19 April 2010 . The New York Times . 15 March 2011 . 3 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180703002200/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/arts/music/19choi.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print . live .
  8. News: 'Trombone Shorty' slides his band into Harlow's . Meyer . Carla . 17 September 2010 . The Sacramento Bee.
  9. News: Trombone Shorty's Backatown. Himes. Geoffrey. 4 June 2010. The Washington Post. 15 March 2011. 29 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629050412/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060301555.html. live.
  10. Web site: German chart overview - Trombone Shorty . musicline.de . media control . German . 6 August 2013 . 29 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829153958/http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Shorty,Trombone/longplay . live .
  11. Web site: Charts & Awards: Backatown. Allmusic. 15 March 2011. 9 February 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240209020250/https://www.allmusic.com/album/backatown-mw0001974294. live.
  12. Web site: Trombone Shorty - Backatown – Music Charts . acharts.us . 6 August 2013 . 3 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111203065527/http://acharts.us/album/64521 . live .

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