The Derek Trucks Band
Songlines

"Davis and Coltrane, not by chance, use modality to recover, within a context until then mainly characterized by the dialectic between European and African musical traditions, elements of the Asian, oriental one: sometimes borrowed - in the case of Davis - from the Spanish civilization, sometimes inspired - as in the case of John Coltrane - by Indian music. But in this, Jazz also manages to achieve a sort of historical reunion with the 'oriental' origins of Western music: Greek and then Gregorian modes, from which the modern major-minor conception was born, in turn come from ancient Asian modes. The curious fact is that the theoretical basis of this work, having great anthropological significance, carried out by Coltrane, was derived by the colored saxophonist from the study of the treatise Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns by Nicholas Slonimsky, a Russian composer and musicologist who emigrated to the United States..."

In this interesting definition taken from the book "Il Jazz - Una Civiltà Musicale Afroamericana ed Europea" by Luca Cerchiari, Derek Trucks would undoubtedly find a place too; especially because the boy grew not only - but not only in his - in the cult of Coltrane, but because he also adopted his spirituality and musical philosophy. The elements that Trucks and Coltrane have in common are diverse: he covered the various "Afro Blue", "Naima" - a name also given to his daughter he had with the Blues Woman Susan Tedeschi -, "My Favorite Things" is a fixture in his show's setlist and, as if that weren't enough, McCoy Tyner called him last year to play on his album of duets, specifically giving life to a delightful version of "Greensleaves". But who is Derek Trucks? Derek Trucks is the nephew of Butch Tracks, one of the founders of the Allman Brothers Band, who called about ten years ago the nephew with the task of flanking another thoroughbred like Warren Haynes, in the highly successful attempt to give new vitality to the historic formation always led by the legendary Gregg. Derek Trucks is also the likable thirty-year-old blond seemingly detached and cold as an icicle, father of two children, married to Susan Tedeschi, but also the most acclaimed guitarist of his generation, who managed to carve out a little spot in History.

The wide sonic range of Trucks is impressive, like a palette full of colors and shades that reinvent themselves each time, bringing to life sonic journeys with strong vitality; and this is especially perceived when his ethnicity elevates his spirit, a typical Coltraneian exercise. Songlines is his penultimate album, dated 2007. Jokingly the boy invokes the culture and millennial legends of the Aboriginals, with interesting reflections present in the cover notes; always in that anthropological logic as mysterious as it is damn fascinating. Trucks is a sonic traveler, his Gibson is his suitcase, capable of catalyzing sounds and atmospheres to bring towards his base conception, that is, those firmly rooted in American music of the '900s. The obsessive "Volunteered Slavery" is a ritual song, and it opens a ritual-disc. It seems to hear it while some Saturday afternoon they broadcast on Rai 3 the typical documentaries from the world. What does Trucks do? To this primordial song, he attaches a captivating R&B named "I'll Find My Way"; Trucksian logic. He moves from traditional Pakistani like "Sahib Teri Bandi - Maki Madni" to the return home with "Chevrolet", a rustic and delightful cover of Taj Mahal. From the Reggae of "Sailing On" to the rugged Classic Rock of "Revolution", where Mike Mattison's roaring Soul voice delivers a spectacle as in the rest of the disc. Gradually the rest, with the rest of the band capable of enhancing a horse with flowing blonde hair so free and so open. Disc rated 4 1/2, grab it.

This enthusiasm comes directly to me from his concert two days ago in Faenza, but instead of reviewing the concert, I preferred to give attention to this great album I was missing, purchased just on the occasion of the concert.