Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience Morgan Freeman, Ground Zero Blues Club Band, Chineke! Orchestra, Martin Gellner

• 1 Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground 02:50
• 2 Crossroads 03:32
• 3 Death Letter Blues 04:00
• 4 Dust My Broom 02:35
• 5 The Thrill Is Gone 04:10
• 6 Cadillac Assembly Line 03:43
• 7 Somebody's Knockin' 03:48
• 8 Traveling Riverside Blues 03:41
• 9 I'll Take You There 03:08
• 10 Love Me Or Leave Me 04:15
• 11 Someday 04:05
• 12 I Lied To You (From "Sinners") 03:28
• Total Runtime 43:15

Info for Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience

Step into a world where the deep, resonant tones of Mississippi Delta blues meet the majesty of a symphony orchestra. A masterful blend of blues classics and symphonic grandeur.

A contemporary blues album performed by Chineke! Orchestra, narrated by Morgan Freeman, and conducted by Martin Gellner, who created all the new arrangements for this project. Recorded between the world-class recording studios: Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and Abbey Road, this album weaves together powerful cinematic storytelling with live blues and orchestral performances, collaborating with Grammy Award-winning producers, and blues performers. Producers include Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell, a Grammy Award-winning engineer, producer, composer, award-winning movie producer, and owner of Royal Studios in Memphis. He received the 2016 Record of the Year Grammy for "Uptown Funk" and was instrumental in producing the Academy Award-winning soundtrack, Sinners. Performers on this album include the Ground Zero Blues Club Band, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo' and Shemekia Copeland.

“Juneteenth felt like the only right date to introduce this powerful single. This music was born from the same history that Juneteenth commemorates. ‘Death Letter Blues’ is one of the rawest, most honest pieces in the American songbook, and hearing Taj Mahal inhabit it with a full symphony behind him — recorded between the hallowed walls of Royal Studios and Abbey Road — is something that is groundbreaking and unique. We’re incredibly proud to introduce our album with this track.” — Eric Meier, Producer, Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience

“I heard the blues for the first time on my grandmother’s porch in the Mississippi Delta, and it has never left me. Having Taj Mahal kick off this album with a cover of Son House’s classic “Death Letter Blues” strikes the perfect tone for the introduction of this album. Releasing this on Juneteenth is not just symbolic — it is the truth of where this music comes from and who made it. I hope people listen and remember.” — Morgan Freeman, Producer & Narrator

Symphonic Blues is a celebration of one of the world’s most influential musical traditions and the enduring legacy of the artists who shaped it. The blues has always been a profound expression of resilience, humanity, and truth, and bringing this music into conversation with a symphony orchestra creates something both deeply respectful of its roots and boldly expansive in its possibilities. But the deep connection that Chineke! Orchestra, as a majority Black and ethnically diverse ensemble made, created an especially unique perspective bringing their artistry, passion, and cultural understanding to this project, illuminating the emotional depth and universality of these songs. It has been a privilege to help bring this vision to life, and I hope listeners hear not only the history within this music, but also its continuing power to inspire, connect, and transcend boundaries.” — Jonathon Heyward, Interim Artistic Director, Chineke! Orchestra

Morgan Freeman, narrator
Keith Johnson, guitar (track 1, 12)
Super Chikan, guitar (track 2)
Taj Mahal, guitar, vocals (track 3)
Lady Adrena, vocals (track 4)
Alvin Youngblood Hart, guitar, vocals (track 5)
Keb’ Mo’, guitar, vocals (track 6)
Anthony Big A Sherrod, vocals (tracks 7, 10, 11)
Shemekia Copeland, vocals (track 8)
Tiernii Jackson, vocals (track 9)
Stax Music Academy Choir (track 9)
Chineke! Orchestra

Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience
For Morgan Freeman, the Mississippi Delta isn’t just the birthplace of the Blues – it’s home. A lifelong advocate for preserving the music and culture of this region, Freeman’s deep connection to the Delta runs through every note of this symphonic journey. As a co-founder of the world-renowned Ground Zero Blues Club, Freeman has dedicated himself to celebrating the musicians who shaped this powerful genre. His passion for the Blues goes beyond admiration – it’s a commitment to preserving the history, soul, and stories of the artists who first gave the world this uniquely American sound.

Morgan Freeman’s lifelong love for his birthplace in Mississippi—its rhythms, its history, and its people—lies at the very heart of the Symphonic Blues Experience. His vision to elevate the Blues beyond the juke joint and into the concert hall was born from a desire to honor the soul of the Delta on a grand, global stage. Together with his business partners Eric Meier and Howard Stovall, with whom he co-owns the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Freeman found the ideal collaborators to help bring this vision to life. With Meier’s entrepreneurial leadership and Stovall’s production expertise, the three transformed a deeply personal homage into a groundbreaking cultural event that celebrates the rich legacy of the Blues through powerful music, cinematic storytelling, and symphonic scale.

This album contains no booklet.