Trombone Shorty gets Mardi Gras party started

This was not standard fare for the Regattabar. The young band of Big Easy hotshots - the oldest member of Orleans Avenue is 27 - turned up the funk from the get-go and never let up. Trombone Shorty - a.k.a. Troy Andrews - plays trumpet as well as trombone, and he sings too, but his more accurate role is that of ringmaster.

It would be a stretch to call Andrews a virtuoso on either instrument. He resorted to a lot of cliches - repeating a single note ad infinitum, playing a three-note phrase for upward of eight bars, growling gratuitously - but in this case it didn’t matter. The point was to serve up a good time, not a jazz master class, and he succeeded 100 percent.

Andrews broke down the wall between entertainer and audience with his constant banter, and he drew inspiration from James Brown, shouting into the microphone like the godfather of soul. He encouraged folks to get up and dance, to wave handkerchiefs above their heads - even to imbibe. “Don’t forget,’’ he said. “The more you drink, the better you think we sound.’’

Not that they needed help. The band - which included two saxophones, electric bass, guitar, drums, and congas - powered through its set of covers, which ranged from virile versions of Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy Mercy Mercy’’ and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get It Started’’ to sensual, soulful takes of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together’’ and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.’’ The climax was the band’s celebration of its hometown team’s Super Bowl victory with an extended riff on “When the Saints Go Marching In,’’ during which the horn players marched through the crowd - just like a second line would do at Mardi Gras.