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| Tedeschi Trucks Band to Play 2-hour Set at Newport Jazz Festival The stellar 11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band will make its only New England appearance this summer when it closes this year's Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management with a full two-hour set on Sunday, August 5, on the Fort Stage at 5:00 pm. Founded in 2010 by husband-and-wife musicians Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi after putting their own solo groups on hiatus, the blues-rock band has taken the music world by storm. Their debut album, "Revelator" (2011), was given four out of five stars by Rolling Stone, who hailed the record as a "masterpiece, " and won the Grammy award for Best Blues Album. Their second album, "Everybody's Talkin', " released in May 2012, features performances of songs on "Revelator" as well as covers of rock, R&B, and gospel classics, spanning only a few of the band's far-ranging influences. Said Trucks about the band, "It's really taken from all forms of American music and world music, which I think jazz did as well. But I love the idea of this band playing the jazz festival. I think there's something great about that. It's music fans that are there to listen to music … it's people that want to come see great artists do their thing … the art and the creativity are what's held up, " said Trucks abut the Newport Jazz Festival. Currently 16th on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists, Derek Trucks is one of the most exciting and accomplished guitarists on the scene today. In 1996, he formed the Derek Trucks Band, which won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2010, and by the age of 20 he had performed alongside the likes of Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, and Stephen Stills. In 1999, he became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band, of which his uncle, Butch Trucks, is a founding member. The other half of the Tedeschi Trucks power couple, Susan Tedeschi, has been nominated for a Grammy Award five times – once for Best New Artist, once for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and three times for Best Contemporary Blues Album. She has also opened for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, the Rolling Stones, and many others, and has released six albums of her own, while collaborating on many others. In 2008, she served as a judge for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. When Trucks and Tedeschi sat down for a chat with George Wein in his New York home, they expressed their excitement at returning to the festival. "Speaking for myself, and I know the other guys in the band, it's hallowed ground, " said Trucks, "Everybody in our group knows the significance of that festival and that place and all the music at the festival there." Added Tedeschi, "It's always an honor. I love it, I love the setting, and for me, being from Massachusetts, it feels like I'm home, and I love seeing all the sailboats. And I still see that spirit in your festivals, they're still beautiful and they have such a higher importance even." "The last time I saw the two of you was fascinating, " said Wein. "It was at the Herbie Hancock concert and when you two came on for the finale, I'm sure you could feel it, because we could feel it out in the audience. It just lifted up to another level, and I said, we have to have that group at the festival." write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |