''Soul Serenade'' is the fourth studio album by American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

The Derek Trucks Band The Derek Trucks Band was an American blues rock group founded by young slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks, who began playing guitar and touring with some of blues and rock music's elite when he was just nine years old. After experimenting as an a ...

, released in 2003. ''Soul Serenade'' may also be considered the band's third album, as it was recorded in its entirety before '' Joyful Noise'', but was held up in legalities,A note o
The Derek Trucks Band Official Website
refers to Songlines being "held up in legalities." and therefore released later. ''Soul Serenade'' continues this band's exploration of genre ambiguity. Refusing to be tied to a single genre ( Blues, specifically) alienated some fans, but has allowed Trucks and his band to express themselves creatively in ways that would not be possible if confined to a single genre. Increasingly, the band, with a blues base, embraces world music. This album was released as an Enhanced CD, and contains six QuickTime-format interview clips with

Trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Robert L. Doerschuk wrote: "By almost any measure, this is a jazz album; the only references to rock can be heard in the overdriven tone and bluesy slide phrasing that Trucks consistently employs... The rhythm feel is subtle... with an understated swing that borrows from this or that corner of world music but unmistakably centers itself on jazz practice." Justin Cober-Lake of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' stated: "Each musician in the band is supremely talented and a large part of the band's success is due to the members' willingness to share time at the front of the sound... the album contains no filler... Although the individual artists may not have sought attention on ''Soul Serenade'', the Derek Trucks Band deserves to be noticed." Writing for ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growt ...

'', Brian Gilmore commented: "It won't matter how this album is classified... because it has it all... the Derek Trucks Band is hitting on all cylinders from start to finish... heband stays tight and focused at all times, letting the guitarist roam where he needs." In an article for ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', C. Michael Bailey remarked: "Derek Trucks may safely be considered the logical extension of the art of Duane Allman without simply being an imitation... the guitarist proves himself a clever and capable leader, not afraid to visit new or old themes." '' Billboards Philip van Vleck noted that the tunes on the album "evince Trucks' continuing gravitation toward jazz in particular and eclecticism in general," and called his guitar work "adventuresome and powerful." He wrote: "He may be associated with the Allman Brothers Band, but when Trucks works with his group, Pat Metheny may be a more relevant reference." Author

Alan Paul Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949, Newark, New Jersey) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Education Raised in ...

called

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

's performance on "Drown in My Own Tears" "one of his best vocal tracks of the new millennium."

Track listing

;Enhanced CD interview tracks

Personnel

Derek Trucks Derek Trucks (born June 8, 1979) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues sin ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

* Todd Smallie -

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Yonrico Scott Yonrico Scott (October 6, 1955 – September 19, 2019) was an American drummer and percussionist. He was a longtime member of the Grammy winning The Derek Trucks Band, became a bandleader of his own ensemble, the Yonrico Scott Band, and later ...

- drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Kofi Burbridge Kofi Burbridge (September 22, 1961 – February 15, 2019) was an American keyboardist and flautist of the blues and blues rock group Tedeschi Trucks Band. Burbridge was a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who provided keyboards, organ, ...

- flute, clavinet, Fender Rhodes Piano, keyboards ;Additional personnel *Bill McKay -

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

, Wurlitzer Piano, keyboards *

- vocals (on track 3) *John Snyder - producer *Derek Trucks - producer *Tony Daigle - engineer *Robert Willis - engineer for Gregg Allman *Jim Mageras - mastering *Josh Cheuse - art direction and design *William Eggleston - cover photo *Chris Floyd - other photos *Josh Cheuse - other photos *Martin Shulman - interview, videography and editing *Joe Capone - interviewer *Wayne Forte - booking *Blake Budney - management *Marty Wall, Joe Main - crew

Charts

References

{{Authority control Derek Trucks albums 2003 albums Columbia Records albums