Review | Trombone Shorty Brings the Party, as Promised

An exuberant Trombone Shorty and his terrific band brought some wildly fun, New Orleans–style hipness, crossed with a big band sound and attitude, to the Bowl last week. Despite his many appearances in Santa Barbara over the years, I had never seen Shorty live before, and he delivered a fresh fusion of funk, jazz, hip-hop, and smiles as promised.

Following a great set by Big Boi, a hip-hop legend who is also well known as one-half of OutKast (“Hey Ya!” and “SpottieOttieDopaliscious,” among other hits), Shorty and his band — a three-person horn section, two electric guitarists, a drummer, and two beautifully big voiced singers —busted on stage with “It Ain’t No Use,” from his Parking Lot Symphony album.

The next hour and half filled the air with a dynamite dose of showmanship — this guy has so much energy that a rocket launch from Vanderberg was barely a blip in the sky, unlike other nights at the Bowl where the whole audience almost came to a standstill to watch. A trombone virtuoso and a band leader since he was a small boy, now 38 years old, the Grammy-winning Shorty has seen his audiences and acclaim continue to grow over the years. With a lanky physicality emphasized by the long lean lines of his trombone, as well as his hep cat dance moves, Shorty brings a unique charisma to the stage that’s charming as all get out.

As much fun as the music itself is, the performance is really what gives this band its buoyant spirit. When he’s not singing lead or playing the horn, Shorty is riffing with his band members, bringing the musical equivalent of chest bumps and “shots, shots, shots” cheers to the stage. And speaking of the stage, they may not have paraded up into the Bowl’s audience (sadly) as they’ve done many times before, but this band uses the whole entire space with such high-spirited performances that it’s hard to resist.

Maybe it’s because it brings back so many fond memories, but Trombone Shorty’s cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” was one of my favorite songs of the night. And so was the classic New Orleans tune, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Besides the jaunty performances, the other thing that struck me about this show was Shorty’s generosity in letting almost every member of his talented band take the spotlight.

After promising “I want you to go crazy like we’ve never done here at the Bowl,” followed by the whole band getting low (low, low as the song goes), these charismatic performers ended the evening with a high-spirited version of George Clinton’s “We Want the Funk,” as the audience ended the night smiling and dancing — just like Shorty wanted.