James Andrews (musician)

James Andrews (born January 12, 1969) is an American musician from New Orleans. He hails from a musical family; he is the grandson of Jesse Hill, older brother (and mentor) to Troy Andrews[1] (better known by his stage name of "Trombone Shorty"), and cousin to Glen David Andrews and the late Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill. A trumpeter and vocalist, Andrews has the nickname “Satchmo of the Ghetto."[2] Raised in the Tremé neighborhood, Andrews played in a number of brass bands, including the Treme Brass Band, Junior Olympia Brass Band, and the New Birth Brass Band,[3][4] before launching his own band, James Andrews and the Crescent City Allstars.[5] He also played with multi-instrumentalist Danny Barker.[6] In 1998, he released the album Satchmo of the Ghetto, which was produced by Allen Toussaint and featured Dr. John on all 11 tracks.[7]

In 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina, James Andrews was one of the first musicians to return to New Orleans following the flooding. He and his brother, Trombone Shorty, played at Jackson Square a mere 17 days after Katrina hit the area, and, at a later show at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Andrews was the first to declare "We’re gonna rebuild this city, note by note."[8]

Andrews appeared as himself in three episodes of the HBO series Treme, "Do Watcha Wanna," "Smoke My Peace Pipe," and "Yes We Can Can".[9]