Blues 'enthusiast' Morgan Freeman's album covers 100 years of the genre | KMIT 105.9 FM

Morgan Freeman is releasing an album, “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience,” on Friday, drawing together blues artists and orchestral arrangements. Freeman—an Academy Award winner—was inspired 25 years ago in Clarksdale, Mississippi, after out-of-towners asked where to hear blues; with business partners Bill Luckett and Howard Stovall, he helped open the Ground Zero Blues Club. More recently, Freeman produced and narrated a touring ensemble that blends Southern blues with symphonic compositions, trimming a nearly two-hour live show to about 45 minutes across 12 tracks for the album. The record features performers including Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland, Tiernii Jackson, the Stax Music Academy Choir, and London’s Chineke! Orchestra, plus Freeman’s “cinematic narration” recorded at the club. Described as a 100-year arc from the 1930s to today, the tracklist includes a setting of “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground,” tied to Blind Willie Johnson.