Let Me Get By
With the Allman Brothers retired, the jam scene’s southern division needs a new top dog, and the TTB sound like it here. They’re no Xerox: Guitar hero Derek Trucks has a bit more freedom than the Allmans provided – see the dreamy raga-style acoustic coda (“Swamp Raga for Holzapfel, Lefebvre, Flute and Harmonium”) appended to “Cryin’ Over You,” the set’s high point, an eight-minute orchestral soul smoker. The horns, like the grooves, also set the band apart, splitting the difference between Stax-Volt funk muscle and jazzy New Orleans elegance. Susan Tedeschi has chops, charm, and a workmanlike style that could at times use some pizzazz. But sharing duties with polyvalent vocalist Mike Mattison (check the boozy strut “Right On Time”) and the other soloists, she steers a band greater than its parts, and still growing better.