Derek Trucks Talks About “Already Free” and Touring With Slowhand

Sometimes the best music gets captured on record when the people involved are playing more than they’re working, feeling good more than feeling driven. When Derek Trucks invited friends and family into his new home studio in Florida, the result was “Already Free,” a disc with the loose, natural sound that matches its title.

“You know, I think the whole feel of the record is really relaxed and inclusive,” said Trucks, who performs with his band Sunday at the Coca-Cola Bricktown Events Center, 425 E California. “You know, it is such a family record: everyone was around the whole time, the kids were in and out of the studio and it was all close friends. It was my wife (Susan Tedeschi) and her band, Doyle Bramhall, Warren (Haynes), Oteil (Burbridge). So it felt like a real communal thing, and you get that real sense on the record, that everyone wants to be there.”

“Already Free” often recalls the loose blues-rock feel of Eric Clapton’s solo debut, when the English blues guitar master discovered Oklahoma singer-songwriter J.J. Cale and started setting his watch by Tulsa time. It was recorded following a tour in which Trucks played guitar alongside Clapton and Bramhall, and the setlist was made up largely of songs from Clapton’s Derek & the Dominos disc, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.”

Trucks, who was named after Derek & the Dominos, was gratified to get the call to play with Clapton, who asked him to play on his collaboration with J.J. Cale, “The Road to Escondido,” which eventually led to the tour.