ACL Live
Mom and pop band does alright with Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers: Gets aGrammy nod
Derek Trucks may be the best guitar player you’ve never heard of, or at least assumed you’ve never heard of. His wife Susan Tedeschi, with her half-dozen Grammy nominations, isn’t too bad either.
In November Rolling Stone Magazine rated Derek Trucks the sixteenth greatest guitar player of all time. That’s greatest guitar player EVER. An endlessly debatable ranking for sure, but listed higher than Neil Young, Carlos Santana, and Angus Young of AC/DC.
Before his thirtieth birthday he was handpicked to tour with Eric Clapton in his band. Now he’s a member of his uncle Butch’s band, the Allman Brothers, a band he first took the stage with when he was a teenager.
Tedeschi, a powerful guitarist and blues singer in her own right, has been on the scene since her 2000 Best New Artist Grammy nomination.
Along the road, Trucks and Tedeschi met, got married, started a family, then started a band together. The Soul Stew Revival, their first incarnation, mixed their two respective bands and toured the country. By combining their two bands they were able to stay together as a family, despite the tour schedules.
For their newest band, the aptly named Tedeschi Trucks Band, they set out to start right at home.
The band recorded its new album, Revelator, at their Jacksonville, Florida home, with musicians they knew well. At over ten members, the band is bigger than a thanksgiving dinner.
Aside from Tedeschi and Trucks another family also anchors the band. Brother Oteil and Kofi Burbridge have been a part of their extended family for a long time. Oteil plays bass with Derek in the Allman Brothers, Kofi comes from the Derek Trucks Band.
A full horn section, two drummers, and two additional singers give the band a lot of room to breathe — both live and on the album.
Revelator, released in June of 2011, is nominated for Best Blues Album in the 2011 Grammys which air in February. The album was released on the Sony Masterworks label.
To get an idea of the caliber of musicianship between Tedeschi and Trucks just look at their label mates. Sony Masterworks also carries virtuosos like Van Cliburn, Yo-Yo Ma, and Wynton Marsalis. Not bad for a family rock band.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band plays the ACL Live at the Moody Theater on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. The BoDeans open the show. Tickets are still available.