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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nBefore the interview begins, <\/span>Morgan Freeman<\/span> starts talking about Ravi Shankar. \u2018He played with The <\/span>Beatles<\/span>, and The Beatles were greatly influenced by the blues. Look at how it ties up,\u2019 he says. It\u2019s an apt prelude. For the Oscar-winning actor and lifelong son of Mississippi, the blues is a living history carried through cultures, an idea at the heart of Symphonic Blues Experience, which blends the genre\u2019s 100-year journey with the grandeur of a symphony orchestra and collaborators from Memphis to Mumbai. Talking to Mohua Das, <\/span>Freeman<\/span>, 89, reflects on why preserving its legacy matters as much as finding new audiences<\/span>Why did you feel a symphonic album, rather than a documentary or a film, was the right medium to tell the blues story? <\/span>The blues grew out of misery. The original concept of rhythm, I think, was the work hollers in the fields. It was always rooted in that hum that is in Africa. And expressing your pain, you call on Jesus. If you\u2019re not calling on Jesus, you\u2019re just complaining and complaining. That\u2019s the bottom line of the blues. Film, of course, goes everywhere. It travels. Music carries a message.One of the producers on this album is a Mumbai-based trio \u2014 VG Jairam, VG Jaishankar and Neale Murray \u2014 who have spent years building one of Asia’s biggest blues communities. How did that collaboration come about? <\/span>The concept of a crossover has been done in a variety of ways. I\u2019d seen a hip-hop band from Australia do something similar with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, so I thought, \u201cLet’s give this a shot.\u201d It had never been done at this scale. We felt it would allow us to reach new audiences and allow symphony audiences to experience blues music. We prototyped it in Savannah, Dublin and Salzburg, and the response was tremendous. We then brought it to North America, where we’ve now performed 25 shows. After the first season, we decided to produce an album. Through our partner\u2019s relationship with the Indian team, the collaboration happened almost organically. They brought authenticity and years of experience through their Blues Festival, so it was a natural partnership. We couldn\u2019t be happier.You visited India in search of faith and spirituality back in 2015. Is there a moment from that journey that has remained with you?<\/span>I can think of many, but I think the most impressive was being on the Ganges at night in Varanasi. You read about it, you see it in movies, but to actually be in the middle of an event like that (Ganga aarti)…I\u2019ll never forget it.The challenge with any reinterpretation is bringing something new while honouring what came before. What does a symphony orchestra allow the blues to express without polishing its rough edges?<\/span>I think it brings gravitas. The arrangements have to preserve the rawness of the blues while adding impact. All the credit goes to Martin Gellner for the arrangements and producers like Boo Mitchell for finding that perfect blend. Ultimately, you have to experience it. Audiences have felt we\u2019ve succeeded in adding that scale. Combine that with cinematic narration and video storytelling for every song, and it becomes a blend of entertainment and education.Your voice is almost an instrument in itself. When you\u2019re narrating rather than acting, what changes? Is there something you’ve learnt about the power of a voice to move people?<\/span>It’s something I’m still learning. As an actor, years ago, I became interested in what makes a voice a voice. I grew up watching movies, so there were voices that certainly had an impact on me. But I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever consciously thought about that while I was working.Was there ever a part of you that wished you\u2019d been a musician? Did you ever play or sing?<\/span>Well, I was a musician. I was in the high school band. I could read music. But I grew up wanting to be an actor. However, singing with Al Green on stage (on New Year\u2019s Eve at Freeman\u2019s Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale), oh, my… that was epic. Your life has moments. Mine has many. And that was one of them. I\u2019d driven around the country singing along with Al Green…and Frank Sinatra.You say you first heard the blues on your grandmother\u2019s porch in the Mississippi Delta. What are your earliest memories of connecting with it?<\/span>I was only four or five years old, but do you know what moonshine is? I’m talking about the liquor. Moonshine and the blues are tied together in my childhood memory because those guys needed a little nip before they started singing, just to get into the mood. They didn’t give me moonshine, but I had a couple of young uncles who sometimes babysat me, and to keep me quiet they\u2019d give me about a teaspoon of whisky (laughs). That\u2019s just an early childhood image.You established the Ground Zero Blues Club 25 years ago. What future do you see for the blues?<\/span>Some years ago, my then business partner, who\u2019s since passed away, and I were in Clarksdale working on a building where we were going to open a restaurant. Across the street we saw a couple of backpackers\u2014white kids. Bill asked them what they were looking for. They said, \u2018Where can we hear the blues?\u2019 They were standing in the Mississippi Delta asking where they could hear the blues. And we couldn\u2019t give them an answer. There wasn\u2019t one. That was the inception of Ground Zero. About the future of the genre, I don\u2019t have the answer. I\u2019m just watching it happen.You’ve lived many lives\u2014actor, pilot, sailor, narrator, restaurateur\u2014and now you’re helping preserve one of America’s great musical traditions. At this stage of your life, what still excites you enough to say, \u2018This is what I want to do next\u2019?<\/span>It sounds defeating to say no, there isn\u2019t. But no, there isn\u2019t. I have no more exciting dreams except to live the life I\u2019m living, which is pretty good.You\u2019ve been producing projects recovering overlooked histories\u2014from the blues to the \u2018761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers\u2019 to \u2018The Gray House\u2019. Are there stories you think cinema still hasn\u2019t told?<\/span>Yes, ma\u2019am, there are. Being a big fan of movies, I\u2019ve seen just about every film ever made about war, particularly World War II. And I noticed an absence of me. So, I\u2019ve always wanted to correct that mistake. I\u2019m still working on it.<\/div>\n