Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni

The Derek Trucks Band, 2002, from Songlines. Solo by Derek Trucks.

Trucks adapts Qawwali melody to slide guitar, one of the clearest statements of his cross-cultural approach.

Derek Trucks adapts Qawwali devotional melodies to slide guitar on this track, bringing the ornamented, vocal style of that tradition into a rock and jazz band setting. Playing a Gibson SG, he glides between pitches rather than simply landing on them, using microtonal slides and delicate vibrato that mimic a singer's inflection. The arrangement lets the melody unfold slowly, gaining intensity as the band builds beneath it. It remains one of the clearest statements of his cross-cultural approach and of how far slide guitar can reach beyond the blues. Listen for how Trucks shapes each phrase like a line of song, with long slides into target notes and tiny turns that decorate them without breaking the flow.

Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni by The Derek Trucks Band is featured in our Jam (#22) list. The solo is played by Derek Trucks and the song was released in 2002.

In our lists

• The 25 Greatest Jam Band Guitar Solos — #22
• Slide Guitar — #19
• The Best The Derek Trucks Band Guitar Solos — #1
• The Best Derek Trucks Guitar Solos — #2

Sources