Young Meets Blues : Despite his lack of the presumed prerequisites--age and pain--Derek Trucks tackles traditional style with talent and a few new twists.

Derek Trucks has heard the knock: A 19-year-old is just too young to play the blues with any sort of credibility. The teenage guitar slinger from Jacksonville, Fla., has just one thing to say.

“It seems to me that those who take that stance are the same ones who cite Robert Johnson as one of the greatest blues musicians ever--and he died at 26,” said Trucks by phone from a tour stop in Providence, R.I. “I mean, some of his best recordings were done when he was 21 and 22.”

“I think no matter the age, it all depends on how you translate your life into music. It just doesn’t make any sense to generalize. I know a lot of young players who don’t have the depth, but what about the 40- and 50-year-old musicians who have a huge lack of soul in their music?”

Trucks, the nephew of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, and his three-piece band appear with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers Sunday night in San Juan Capistrano. Then beginning June 12 in Red Rocks, Colo., Trucks will set aside his solo career temporarily to replace ailing guitarist Jack Pearson in the Allman Brothers Band for their 30th anniversary tour.

Trucks has released two albums so far, including last year’s “Out of the Madness.” It features a number of blues standards and finds Trucks, singer-keyboardist Bill McKay, bassist Todd Smallie and drummer Yonrico Scott immersed not only in Chicago and Mississippi Delta blues, but also dabbling in Indian classical music, funk and jazz-fusion.

So while many people his age are caught up listening to the modern-rock sounds of Alanis, Fastball and Smash Mouth, Trucks is fascinated by Indian or Pakistani virtuosos Zakir Hussain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Akbar.

“I really admire the dedication and respect these Indian classical guys have for the music of their culture,” said Trucks. “Some of them study their craft for 20 or 30 years because they feel like they owe their ancestors something. It’s devotional music, really.”

“What bugs me about today’s pop stars is that they don’t take their music that seriously,” he said. “It’s just entertainment. They seem to have other motives behind what they do and really aren’t all that interested in the music itself, or its lineage.”

Citing influences ranging from Son House and Howlin’ Wolf to John Coltrane, Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter, Trucks aims to contemporize the blues with his unique slant on the form. For instance, he played the sarod--a lute-like Indian stringed instrument--on a pair of tunes on his 1997 debut album, “The Derek Trucks Band,” and he used a National metal-bodied guitar to bridge the Delta blues with Indian classical music on “Deltaraga,” an instrumental that closes “Out of the Madness.”

In whatever style he plays, tapping into emotional currents is the key.

“When I saw this video of Son House, Bukka White and Skip James, I was knocked out by the purity and intensity of their playing,” Trucks said. “Later, I realized that it takes many, many years of honing your craft to make something [special] happen with all-acoustic instruments. I think that’s really why I’m so drawn to Eastern music and the Mississippi Delta blues.”

Other than the family ties, what would lead the adventuresome Trucks to spend his summer with the Allman Brothers Band, not exactly an outfit willing to push the envelope?

Or is it?

“I think they’re mislabeled--’Southern rock’ is a very misleading category,” Trucks said. “The Allman Brothers are far more diverse than your average rock band. Duane [Allman] and Jaimo [original drummer John Lee Johnson] . . . they were listening to Miles [Davis] and [John] Coltrane. Butch came in with classical leanings, Dickey [Betts] brought a love for country music, and Gregg [Allman] was heavily influenced by the blues.”

“They were one of the few bands in that so-called genre with the depth to mix up jazz, rock and the blues. That’s why they’re still going strong,” he said. “It’s an honor to play with the Allmans, and hopefully, it will bring a little more exposure to me and my band in the process.”

Maybe 19 isn’t so young after all.

* The Derek Trucks Band opens for John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers Sunday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Also on the bill: Rocco De Luca. 8 p.m. $18.50-$20.50. (949) 496-8930.