“Quiet as Kept” combines Ballard’s bass with guest Charles Smith's synthesized bassline, honking baritone sax, grimy distorted electric guitars and trombones, percussion, and organ for a monster funk workout. It kicks into dancing gear with one of the nastiest, funkiest basslines since Parliament's “Flash Light,” followed by horn vamps, big power chords, and drum kit breaks that are infectious. Clocking in at 43 minutes, it opens with “Hurricane Season.” It commences with a marching rhythm on snare and bass drum followed by Andrews playing a trumpet vamp. It crackles and burns with an unburdened, unfettered, passionate live feel. It definitely sounds like it was recorded in a proper recording studio (Number C and Shorty’s Gumbo Room in N.O.) but transcends those confines. The set is titled for a term used by residents of the Treme neighborhood in the city’s 6th Ward - the oldest black neighborhood in America. Produced by Galactic’s Ben Ellman, it contains 13 Shorty originals and an original interpretation of Allen Toussaint's “On Your Way Down,' on which Toussaint plays piano. Shorty calls his music “supafunkrock,” and it's an accurate term for the aural gumbo on this fingerpopping, butt-shakin' mix set. Backatown is the first time that Orleans Avenue - Dwayne 'Big D' Williams (percussion), Mike Ballard (bass), Joey Peebles (drums), Pete Murano (guitar), and Dan Oestreicher (baritone sax) - have had an actual budget to capture the Trombone Shorty experience, and they've made a studio record that offers a real taste of the live show's excitement.

It didn't because they'd never had the budget to get the vibe right. Given the well-deserved reputation Andrews and his Orleans Avenue band have for incendiary live performances, one had to wonder if it would translate in their studio offerings for independent labels. Backatown, the Verve debut from New Orleans composer, bandleader, and trombone and trumpet boss Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews, was one of the most hotly anticipated recordings of 2010.

Troy trombone shorty andrews