Originally from New Orleans, Troy Andrews, better known as Trombone Shorty, is a regular at Jazz à Vienne. It was in 2011 that he found success by uniting the sound of the great brass band of his hometown, New Orleans, with influences from contemporary jazz and soul.
He is first and foremost an extremely talented trombonist, with spectacular improvisations, which is quite rare for an instrument which, unlike the saxophone or the trumpet, is known to be rather flat.
But also, he proved it again on Friday June 28 during the second evening of Jazz à Vienne, he is a real showman who knows how to put together a concert with a breathtaking rhythm, putting himself on stage, singing, playing. trombone, but also on the trumpet which allows him to give an example of the breath that animates him by holding the same note without blinking, for very, very, long minutes.
Sure, the trombone is “shorty”, but the concert he gives, relying on talented musicians, each one as supercharged as the next, is XXL.
With such clowns on stage, the audience – four thousand festival-goers who had taken their places at the ancient theatre this evening – could only quickly get excited, with spectators swaying in rhythm at the foot of the stage and on the stands.
Of course, musically it is not always sophisticated, but the desired goal is undeniably achieved: an intense groove…
If Trombone Shorty is a true American showman, the same cannot be said of the guitarist and singer-songwriter Jalen Ngonda who opened the evening with his trio, usually the most difficult task at Jazz à Vienne.
Nothing to say about his voice: he is part of the Motown stable, the soul music label, that says it all.
In his exceptional, soulful voice, we can hear the ghosts of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield vibrating.
But only 29 years old, Jalen Ngonda still has a lot to learn from the stage, not being a showman for two rounds, unlike Trombone Shorty, and has not been able to win over the public. But he should learn quickly and we would happily see him again at Jazz à Vienne…
