"Get Down" - Trombone Shorty

SONG: “Get Down” (PDF)
ALBUM: Orleans & Claiborne
ARTIST: Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews & Orleans Avenue
YEAR: 2005
LABEL: Treme Records

This recording features members of the Rebirth Brass Band sitting in on Trombone Shorty's original tune. The harmony for this solo is built around a minor ii-V7 progression, and Trombone Shorty's solo stays within F minor for most of its duration. A common pattern that he uses is a descending figure of F-E-Eb, as in bars 7 and 25. Similarly, he plays around with the F minor blues scale over the C7 chord, as in bar 26. Another interesting pattern over the C7 chord is in bar 22. Shorty uses a diminished pattern (W-H-W-H) starting on the b7th and resolving to the major 3rd. In bar 2, he uses this pattern and combines it with the previously mentioned F-E-Eb pattern. Yet, the most effective patterns of this solo are the sextuplets in bars 8-10 built on an Ab major triad, or the top three notes of the Fm chord.

Here’s a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty playing "Grazing in the Grass" with the Rebirth Brass Band: