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HEADLINE: Adventurous Guitarist Just Keeps On Truckin' By Curtis Ross Tampa Tribune Derek Trucks is at home in Jacksonville, "a rare occurrence this year," he says by telephone. He's not kidding. He's spent much of the year on the road as part of Eric Clapton's touring band. That's when he wasn't playing with The Allman Brothers Band, or with his own Derek Trucks Band, which released its latest album, "Songlines," earlier this year. Trucks says albums such as the Allmans' "At Fillmore East" (1971) and "Eat a Peach" (1972), as well as "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" (1970), Clapton's album with Derek & the Dominos, were among his favorites when he was taking up the guitar around age 9. "To get a chance to be in bands with the guys who created that music," Trucks says, "I mean it's pretty surreal." Trucks is the nephew of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, but he likely didn't need nepotism to make it into the band. A touring musician since age 12, Trucks has developed from a blues-rock whiz kid into one of the most adventurous players around. His sound encompasses his early influences but also Delta blues, jazz from John Coltrane to Sun Ra, and Indian classical music. Trucks, then 12 years old and not much taller than his Gibson SG guitar, wowed audiences at Skipper's Smokehouse back in 1991. The next year he opened for Bob Dylan at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and was brought on stage by Dylan to jam on "Highway 61 Revisited." But Trucks' imagination was too keen for him to settle for the role of 12-bar prodigy. "Whenever I'd meet a musician who knew something I didn't -- which was everybody -- I'd pick their brains," Trucks says. He credits Jimmy Herring and Oteil Burbridge, both formerly of Aquarium Rescue Unit, with turning him onto Wayne Shorter, Son House and Indian classical sounds. "I'd get turned on to an album and read the liner notes to find out who played on it and who their influences were. It's a never-ending search," Trucks says. When he began forming his own band in the mid-'90s, he "sought out musicians who were like-minded or who had influences I wasn't familiar with but that meshed with what I was doing," Trucks explains. The band now includes Kofi Burbridge (Oteil's brother) on keyboards and flute, Mike Mattison on vocals, Yonrico Scott on drums and Todd Smallie on bass. Count M'Butu is an occasional addition on percussion. "I'm lucky to be surrounded by a bunch of bad-asses," Trucks says with a laugh. He's never far from music, even at home. He's married to blues-rock singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. The couple have two children: Charles, 4, and Sophia, 2 -- two very well-traveled children. "Susan and I made it a priority to keep everyone together," Trucks says. Tedeschi and Trucks sometimes tour together. When Tedeschi is on the road herself, Trucks' mother hits the road to help with child care. And the children join their dad on the road whenever possible. "This year they've been in the south of France for the rehearsals with Eric Clapton. They've been to London and Japan," Trucks says. "They've racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles." Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.