Derek Trucks

by Richard Skelly
Blues/blues-rock guitarist Derek Trucks is the nephew of long-time Allman Brothers' drummer Butch Trucks. He displays a command of slide guitar styles that run the gamut from blues to classic R&B and early rock & roll to classic jazz. Although blues players like Buddy Guy, Elmore James and Duane Allman have been a strong influence on Trucks' slide guitar playing, so have pre-'70s jazz players like Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Sun Ra.
Trucks began playing guitar when he was nine, and shared stages and sat in with the likes of Buddy Guy and the Allman Brothers Band by the time he was 12. Trucks began his professional career playing with blues bands around his native Jacksonville, Fla., and formed his own group in high school. Before the age of 20, Trucks shared stages and jammed with Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and Stephen Stills.
Derek Trucks Band, which has members ranging in age from their 20s to their 40s, released their self-titled debut album in 1997 on Landslide Records. Out of the Madness followed in late 1998. Since then, they have released Joyful Noise (2002), Soul Serenade (2003), Live at Georgia Theatre 2004 and Songlines in 2006.