Guitar phenom Derek Trucks recorded latest CD in his own studio

He's married to a gorgeous Boston woman who happens to be one of the finest blues/soul musicians around. He keeps Bertrand Russell works nearby. At the age of 15, he played on a recording session with Junior Wells.

He's also the lead guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, toured in Eric Clapton's group and, as one of the finest slide players in the world, leads his own spectacular Derek Trucks Band - which comes to the Garde Arts Center tonight.

The new DTB album, "Already Free," is literally homegrown and reflects Derek Trucks' hardwired belief that music is about family, spirit, and expression. That he and his wife, Susan Tedeschi, have built a recording studio on their Florida property gave the Trucks Band the means to finally record without tour or money pressures.

"It's a revelation to record at home," Trucks says, speaking in Dixie-buttered tones from a hotel room during a short Allmans junket. "You're with your wife and kids and friends, the studio's right next to a swamp, and you walk outside and and know at once you're in the Deep South. Home."

"Already Free" is pretty amazing, ranging from rural blues and New Orleans-style slow funk to gospelesque rock and a churned-earth arrangment of Dylan's "Down in the Flood." It's all beautifully natural, and the music at once conveys a warm feel you'd associate with the Allmans' "Idlewild South" or the Neville Brothers' "Brothers Keeper."

Trucks says, "This was the first time I'd been in one place for more than three weeks in 15 or 20 years. I learned for the first time to decompress, and that time moves differently. Plus, the guys in the band are family. We had the luxury to enjoy the process and each other and just let the music develop. Originally, it was going to be a straight blues album but it veered off. It was so fun and easy, we just wrote and recorded and whatever happened, happened."

In conversation, the eloquent, soft-spoken musician only seems to reinforce reports that he's regarded by all who meet and/or jam with him as one of the kindest humans presently breathing.

His enthusiasm for life and his job are infectious. He speaks fondly of "Back Where I Started," a stunning original on the new record that features Tedeschi. He says that, finally, he and his wife are going to record an album together and have tentatively blocked time next year for the project.

"We're both on the road so much, and when I was recording this album, Susan was on the West Coast doing her last record," Truck says. He laughs, "We finally decided, hey, if we do a record together, and do it at home, we can alleviate a lot of problems."

Trucks outfitted the new studio with a lot of vintage gear from renowned older studios - including equipment with direct connections to Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, the Kinks and many more.

"One of the things I've picked up as the young guy in the Allmans, or playing with Eric, is the overall sense of respect and history these guys have about the music," Trucks says. "Now we have a tympani Elvin Jones played on 'A Love Supreme.' Wow. Stuff like that makes for good juju."

The Derek Trucks Band, 8 tonight, Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street, New London; with Jaimoe and His Jasssz Band; $30-$45; (860) 444-7373, gardearts.org.