Biography
Blues/blues-rock guitarist Derek Trucks traces his lineage to longtime Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks as his uncle. His slide guitar technique encompasses a wide spectrum of approaches, spanning blues, classic R&B, early rock & roll, and classic jazz. Strong early influences on his playing include blues figures such as Buddy Guy, Elmore James, and Duane Allman, yet pre-’70s jazz artists like John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Sun Ra also left their mark. He first picked up the guitar at age nine and, by twelve, had already shared stages and sat in with Buddy Guy and the Allman Brothers Band. His professional path began with local blues ensembles in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and he assembled his own band while still in high school. Prior to turning twenty, he had performed and jammed alongside Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills. The Derek Trucks Band—whose members ranged from their twenties to their forties—issued its self-titled debut on Landslide Records in 1997. Out of the Madness arrived near the end of 1998. Following the turn of the millennium came Joyful Noise in 2002, Soul Serenade in 2003, Live at Georgia Theatre in 2004, and Songlines in 2006. Already Free appeared on RCA in 2009. On June 22, 2010, the group released Roadsongs, a set captured live in Chicago amid the 2009 Already Free world tour. Trucks and his wife, fellow guitarist Susan Tedeschi, simultaneously launched a touring ensemble and contributed to Herbie Hancock’s The Imagine Project album, delivering the Matthew Moore classic “Space Captain.” That Hancock recording appeared on the same date as Roadsongs. The resulting Tedeschi-Trucks Band, an eleven-piece soul-blues outfit, also featured Oteil and Kofi Burbridge on bass and keyboards, respectively, along with drummers J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell. The unit signed with Sony and delivered its debut album, Revelator, via the Masterworks imprint in June 2011.
Albums
