THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND

“Soul Serenade”

Columbia Records

Included in the liner notes of “Soul Serenade” is a quote by Indian teacher and musician, Hazrat Inayat Khan, which states, “ Music is not expressed through language, but through beauty of rhythm and tone which reach far beyond language.” In an attempt to capture this concept the Derek Trucks Band wanted to create an album that would deliver a unified feeling or mood throughout the entire album. Such as Miles Davis had done with “Kind Of Blue” and Marvin Gaye did with “What’s Going On”, “Soul Serenade” focuses more on the overall mood generated by the music and tightness of the band. Instead of showcasing individual instruments the band plays together as a group of musicians, building on each others versatile playing. From the first notes of the title track “Soul Serenade” the listener will realize they are about to embark on a musical journey.

Ironically, this album was recorded prior to the Derek Trucks Band 2002 release entitled “Joyful Noise”. This by no means suggests that this is an inferior album. “Soul Serenade” was recorded during two short studio sessions in October 1999 and February 2000 and captures the band while they are a cohesive, yet explosive unit. The bands record company, however, buried the recordings, when the company filed for bankruptcy. Litigation finally prevailed allowing the band to release the album commercially. All songs are instrumentals except “Drown In My Own Tears” which features Gregg Allman on vocals. The album also features Kofi Burbridge, newly hired at the time, adding his unmistakable flute and keyboard playing.

Additionally, Derek Trucks offers his otherworldly guitar playing while long time bass player Todd Smallie and experienced drummer Yonrico Scott add their distinct musical trademarks.

Most listeners will immediately recognize the familiar melody of the title track “Soul Serenade”, a song written and performed by saxophonist King Curtis. The band eases in slowly, allowing the listeners ears to acclimate, only to catapult to an explosive finish with Derek Truck’s soaring slide guitar. My only complaint about this song is that the band does not do a full-length version. The band segues into the familiar beat of “Rastaman Chant”, written by Bob Marley. They take “Rastaman Chant” to new heights and stretch the song out allowing for some beautiful flute and guitar interplay. Another standout on the album is “Drown In My Own Tears”. Ray Charles made this song popular, however, it seems it was destined to be a down and out blues song sung by Gregg Allman. Gregg’s vocals and Derek’s guitar playing compliment each other perfectly, to the extent that you can hear the pain of Gregg’s voice being reflected in Derek’s slide guitar work.

Another standout track on “Soul Serenade” is “Afro Blue”. The Derek Trucks Band rivals John Coltrane’s version of “Afro Blue” and really displays how versatile the band is. “Afro Blue” takes listeners through peaks and valleys and floods the listener with various textures of music. “Sierra Leone” ends the album and transports the listener to a meditative state. For this track, Derek plays a sarod, which is a fretless guitarlike instrument, while drawing on his African guitar influences. The band is able to create a spiritual acoustic song and a perfect ending to their musical journey.

- Jamie Sattel

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