Blues-rocker writes a new chapter

Three years ago, blues-rocker Susan Tedeschi proved herself an impressive interpreter of other people's songs on her Grammy-nominated

Hope and Desire

. On her just-released

Back to the River

, the singer-guitarist has tried something else new: collaborating with other songwriters - and not just blues musicians.

"I always wrote alone, so this was a cool opportunity for me," Tedeschi, 38, says from her Jacksonville, Fla., home. "I was really open to the process, and I think the songs are better for it."

Collaborators on the George Drakoulias-produced album include multi-instrumentalist John Leventhal, teen songstress Sonya Kitchell, and alt-country's Gary Louris.

"I knew some of the people I wrote with, and others I got to know really quickly," Tedeschi says.

One newcomer was Leventhal, best known for his work with his wife, Rosanne Cash; he ended up cowriting two tracks. Leventhal even persuaded Tedeschi to use the word

Hummer

, as in mega-size SUV, in "Revolutionize Your Soul," a song inspired by the true-life story of a child soldier in Sierra Leone: "I said, 'If we put that word in, it has to have real meaning; it has to work."

Making things work, both professionally and in her personal life, is important to Tedeschi, who has two young children with her husband, blues guitarist Derek Trucks. Trucks cowrote and produced "Butterfly" on the new disc. Originally recorded as a demo in their home studio, the track ended up on

Back to the River

- complete with a spontaneous Tedeschi guitar solo - after it became evident the original version was the strongest.

"That's how Derek got the production credit," Tedeschi says. "It was an unplanned thing that worked out really cool."

Tedeschi, whose Bonnie Raitt-meets-Janis Joplin vocals are as smoldering as her guitar riffs, usually trades off with Trucks for time on the road because of their children. But they sometimes gig together in the summer with their joint Soul Stew Revival band, often taking the kids with them.

"It's a real juggling act, but it's worth it," Tedeschi says. "We're moving in the right direction."