Tampa Calling

Jacksonville’s Derek Trucks, 29, has established himself as the greatest guitarist of his generation: He’s a genre-hopping band leader/solo artist, key Allman Brother and while on tour with Eric Clapton a couple years back the kid named after Derek and the Dominos helped Slow Hand wonderfully recreate classics from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Yeah, Trucks is the shit.

And so is his wife, Susan Tedeschi. She’s a feisty blues guitarist, an accomplished songwriter and excellent soul singer. Her new album, Back to the River, features her crushing on emotive originals – several cowritten with Trucks, who also lends his slide guitar fineness to the disc – steeped in the sounds of the Deep South. Tedeschi’s also a master interpreter of classic rock gems. One of the many highlights of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2008 was during the final moments when Tedeschi joined Derek Truck’s group for a tent-raising rendition of The Band’s “The Weight.” I get chills and a smile comes to my face just thinking about that very special performance.

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My favorite yearly music bash, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest, just announced its lineup for 2009 and I’m stoked about Aretha Franklin headlining the second weekend, April 30-May 3, which I annually attend. I’ve never seen the Queen of Soul and can’t imagine a better place than the Big Easy for it to finally happen.

Other acts on my must-see list for that weekend include Tony Bennett, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Emmylou Harris (huge fan, never seen her before), Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Toots & the Maytals, Allen Toussaint, John Mayall (he’s pretty cool live), Solomon Burke, Doc Watson, Jakob Dylan (more out of curiosity), Chuck Brown, Guy Clark, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm.

Check out some of my Jazz Fest coverage from last year.

Soul Rebels, which I wrote about last year while at Jazz Fest, and other killer New Orleans acts after the jump.

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Last night, right before we watched the new Big Lebowski double-DVD set, my brother Joel informed me that Aaron Neville didn’t make Rolling Stone’s list of Top 100 Singers.

I told Joel that’s crazy, the Crescent City big man with the angelic voice had to have made the cut.

And then I took a look for myself this morning. Goddamn, no Neville! I’m outraged.

Few singers have made me dry my eyes. Neville is one of them. I’ve heard him to do Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” twice in concert. Manly tears both times.

Photo of Aaron Neville at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2008 by Wade Tatangelo.

Aaron Neville: “A Change is Gonna Come”