Based on two interviews conducted seven years apart, I'd suggest Derek Trucks is an infectiously friendly and perpetually cheerful guy whose constant streams of gleeful laughter could induce cease-fires on the most war-ripped of battlegrounds. Admittedly, two conversations are not a large sample size — as opposed to the thousands of live shows and dozens of recordings over his long career that confirm his status as one of the most outstanding guitarists in the world.

Let's just say that, between his music and his personality, the 37-year-old Trucks has been a refreshing and welcome musical presence since, after sitting in with the Allman Brothers Band throughout his teens, he formally joined the historic band at 20. But the ABB, which called it quits almost exactly two years ago, was hardly Trucks' sole musical outlet.

The visionary slide guitarist, songwriter and bandleader grew as he carved out simultaneous musical identities with his own Derek Trucks Band and, with his guitarist/vocalist/wife Susan Tedeschi, in the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The latter's latest, released last January, is called "Let Me Get By" and, with its warmth, virtuosity, and mesmeric interplay between the group's 12 members, it's a career highlight recording for all involved.

Earlier this week, by phone from the home he shares in Jacksonville with his wife and family, Trucks talked about his career and a Sunday show by the Tedeschi Trucks Band in the Mohegan Sun Wolf Den. Rounding out the group are keyboardist/flutist Kofi Burbidge, drummers Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson, bassist Tim Lefebvre, horn section Kebbi Williams, Elizabeth Lea and Ephraim Owens, and harmony vocalists Mike Mattison, Mark Rivers and Aleccia Chakour. Here are excerpts from the interview.

On the decidedly Southern flavor of "Let Me Get By," whereupon the TTB fluidly and distinctly explores all manners of gospel, balladry, soul, expansive blues-rock and even second-line celebrations:

"All of those musical elements are things that speak pretty directly to the musicians on the record. We're all at a place by this point where we wear our influences on our sleeves without directly emulating them. If you feel it, roll with it. One of the most important things in finding the people I want to play with is that they listened to the right music growing up. All you listened to for the last 30 years is part of what you are. It's like an athlete taking care of your body over a lifetime. If you listened to a lot of BS pop music, that's probably not going to work for us."

On the band's ability to balance a particularly high level of musicianship with respect for space and simplicity:

"I think it's part of the evolution of the band and the overall sophistication of everyone as an individual. When I'm listening to album, I rarely say, 'Oh, what a cool riff or solo.' I'm listening to the music rather than the players. We were tailgating Sunday for the (Jacksonville Jaguars') beatdown by Oakland. It was a beautiful day, and we had B.B. King's 'Live at Cook County Jail' playing. I've heard that a thousand times, but it always hits me how much he can say with one note. That's how grown-ups play!"

On knowing when, for lack of a phrase, to bust loose:

"There are intuitive moments onstage or in the studio when the band's locked in together, and you can feel the floor beneath you move. Sometimes it's like going over a cliff. It's dangerous but so cool. You always have the chops in your back pocket, and you can pull them out if you need them, and we usually know when that is (laughs)."

On the evolution of a band over a long period of time from an every night "after-gig party" mentality to the mature concept of the group as a contented, familial entity:

"That's right at the heart of what we're attempting to do. With a family situation, sometimes it's a lot of work to make it happen. But a lot of it is surrounding yourself with people you love and trust. We've been on the road for a lot of years, and over that time, separately and together, Susan and I remembered people we met that we wanted to be on tour with. And that's who we're playing with. It IS family.

"Last summer, (the Tedeschi Trucks Band) was on tour with Los Lobos and the North Mississippi All-Stars. One Sunday, we had a day off, and all the buses were out back behind the Holiday Inn Express, and somehow the drummers from each band set up a grill in the parking lot. Gradually, we all came out from our buses and just started hanging out — and it became a regular deal the rest of the tour. I've been on tours where, as soon as you're through playing, you head for your corner and keep your head down. We try to make music and records in a way that makes everyone want to be there. It's very collective, and nowadays, in this self-absorbed world, that's a lost art. This band is the antidote to that."

On the end of the Allman Brothers Band (finalized when Trucks and fellow guitarist Warren Haynes announced they were quitting in early 2014):

"The last few years in that band were very touch and go. People were in different head spaces, and there were health issues. Sometimes there'd be a clear view of what we were going to do — but then someone would get cold feet or whatever. Well, I had a clear view, and I made it really clear what I was going to do. We have children, and Susan and I have music we want to do, and I didn't want to be out on the road (with the Allmans) 300 days a year.

"That said, the last handful of shows was special. Everyone involved treated the legacy with respect and a sense of history. It sounds strange coming from the youngest guy on the stage, but I was really proud of everyone. The very last show, there were moments onstage as profound as anything I've ever been part of. Before the final encore, (founding member) Gregg (Allman) gave a little speech, and the whole theater was just spellbound with rapt attention. Us, too. It was one of those magical moments you hear about but never get to experience — but I did. Then we played Muddy Waters' "Trouble No More," which was the first song the original Allmans ever played together. I'll never forget being part of that."

An Evening with The Tedeschi Trucks Band, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Mohegan Sun Arena; $35; 1-888-664-3426.