New Orleans has endured a lot.

The city that birthed the United States' first completely original musical style (jazz) and contributed immensely to another (rock 'n' roll) is still struggling to recover from multiple natural disasters within the space of just a few years.

The city's massive musical legacy seemed to have decayed a little with the hurricanes' destruction of some of the city's historic musical neighborhoods. Jazz music may have been born in New Orleans, but it looked like it might die there as well.

But Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews might have something to say about that.

Shorty toured with Lenny Kravitz in 2005. He was a featured member of the singer's horn section on the tour. He shared a stage with U2 and Green Day at the Superdome's reopening in 2006.

It should be obvious at this point that Trombone Shorty is no old-fashioned jazz cat. He plays the trombone and learned his trade in New Orleans, so he's certainly familiar with his city's musical traditions. But one must only listen to his rendition of AC/DC's "Back in Black" to realize he's doing things a little differently.

Shorty is an up-and-coming artist who takes tried and true musical styles and makes them current. He takes New Orleans jazz and melds it with James Brown funk and contemporary hip-hop. He's also a multi-instrumentalist, despite his nickname.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Trombone Shorty is that he was born in 1986. This is just the beginning of Shorty's career. Jazz hasn't been a young man's music for quite some time now, but the youthful exuberance of Shorty's work could easily appeal to a wider audience.

Shorty's coming to the State Theatre on Sunday. If you want to see the revitalization of American music, this show might be a good place to start. This kid might very well signal that his city's luck is changing. With a new generation of musicians with an appreciation for New Orleans' rich history, the delta region has no reason to worry.