PITTSBURGH (AP) – Musician “Trombone Shorty,” known for his work to preserve the musical heritage of New Orleans, is one of five people being honored Wednesday with $250,000 prizes from the Heinz Family Foundation.
The Heinz Awards recognize innovative work in the arts, environment, human condition, public policy and economics categories.
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews started a foundation to provide New Orleans schools will musical instruments and a self-named music academy, where he created a music performance curriculum. He’s also worked with Tulane University to provide musical training to talented high school musicians.
Other winners include Michelle Alexander, a civil rights attorney from Columbus, Ohio, who wrote the book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”
The foundation was started by Teresa Heinz to honor her late husband, U.S. Sen. John Heinz.