"Long Weekend" - Trombone Shorty

SONG: "Long Weekend" (PDF)
ALBUM: Say That To Say This
YEAR: 2013
LABEL: Verve Records

In an attempt to crossover from jazz instrumentalist to R&B superstar, Trombone Shorty collaborated with producer Raphael Saadiq to focus on creating song-oriented music for his 2013 album Say That To Say This. Saadiq - carried by the success of his 2011 album Stone Rollin’ - reigned in the help of his touring band, drummer Lemar Carter and bassist Calvin Turner, along with his songwriting partner, Taura Stinson, to craft a song that would blend with the modern-era revival of soul music. As a result, the team produced “Long Weekend” perhaps as a grittier version of Kool & The Gang’s “Get Down On It” as if performed by The Meters, with Shorty’s only contribution beyond the lead vocal being that of the horns and this trombone solo.

Recommended reading: Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews. Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Here’s a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty performing “Long Weekend” three months prior to the album’s official release: