Chicago's top artists come together to honor B.B. King
FOX 32 NEWS - Some of Chicago's top Blues, Jazz and Hip-hop artists are honoring the late Blues great B.B. King with a new rendition of one of his signature hits, “The Thrill is Gone.”
Inside the Uptown Recording studio Wednesday afternoon, saxophonist Glenn Burris led a group of prominent musicians in a tribute to B.B. King.
The King of Blues died in May of last year at the age of 89. So in his memory, the artists that are gathered in Uptown are simply taking B.B. King's 1969 Blues hit, “The Thrill is Gone,” and adding some Jazz and Hip-hop to it.
“We have three generations here, musically speaking, and we are somewhat merging all of the three generations and kind of educating the young, to their history,” said saxophonist Glenn Burris.
“I think it's fitting that because Jazz came from the Blues, and Blues came from spiritual, that there be sort of are-uniting of that,” said producer and keyboardist Robert Irving III.
The older generation is represented by percussionist Woody Slaughter.
“Hip-hop and all that stuff is great, but the music that got us here was Blues and Jazz, so that's what I’m trying to do,” Slaughter said.
The Hip-hop contribution is from Jamaar Johnson and Justin Phillips of Understyle.
“I hate the common stereotype that communication or there's a disconnect between generations, this is a clear example of how this is not,” Phillips said.
“It's a great thing to be a part of history,” Johnson added.
This newest take on "The Thrill is Gone" will be released as a single, about five minutes in length, that's expected out early next year. It will later be included in Glenn Burris' next album,
The musical tribute to B.B. King isn't all that's coming out of this gathering. There is also going to be a documentary about how it all came together.
Saxophonist Walter King, who is B.B. King's nephew, is also contributing to the project.