Although most people know him as the leader of Booker T. & The MG's, Booker T. Jones also has been carving a solo path for years.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performs Saturday at Freedom Hall in Park Forest.

“The solo allows me freedom from the past,” said Jones via phone from his home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

“I love my past but I was an experimenter. The whole thing that got me into it was experimenting with music and I can still do that. It allows me to do new songs on stage and get audience reactions to them,” he said.

Helping to round out that live soulful sound is Jones' youngest son Ted, 26, who is the main guitarist in the backing band and also handles much of the road and stage managing for his father.

“It's great,” said Jones about being on the road with Ted, who joined the backing band more than two years ago.

“He's just a music enthusiast and he always has been. He took up soccer for the first part of his life. I didn't know he was going to get into music. I got a guitar for him four years ago. He just really lit up on guitar. He's great actually.”

Although Jones has embraced new material, that does not mean old favorites are missing from the set.

“We have some newer and older songs we're playing and we experiment quite a bit on stage,” said Jones, whose Grammy Awards include best pop instrumental album for 2011's “The Road from Memphis” with the Roots.

“We still play my favorite hits. We still play some of my favorite Stax Records hits and also some of the hits I played on when I moved to California with people like Bob Dylan, just whatever comes to mind.”

Those hits include “Melting Pot” and “Time Is Tight” by Booker T. & The MG's.

“We were just fortunate enough that I was at a young age to make some special music that was special for us and turned out special for a lot of other people,” said Jones about his days with the instrumental rhythm and blues and funk band with which he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Those songs are just great to re-create, especially ‘Green Onions,' ‘Summertime' and ‘Hang 'Em High.' It's just great to have that music in my history.”

Much of Jones' time recently has been taken up with putting together a book.

“I'm working on memoirs,” said Jones, who recalled being 18 years old and going to his first big concert by taking the City of New Orleans train to Chicago to see Count Basie.

“It's a big project. It's a good project for me. I'm enjoying it but it's taking a lot of my attention.”

When time permits, Jones continues work on a follow-up to his 2013 album, “Sound the Alarm,” which marked his return to Stax, where Booker T. & The MG's served as the house band.

Known for playing the Hammond organ, Jones said he is grateful for people who listen to his music.

“I just want to say thank you to people that read this or listen to my music for the support because that's so important,” said Jones, who has performed, written and produced songs in more than 50 films and TV shows.

“I couldn't keep doing it if it wasn't for people coming to shows, so thank you from Booker T.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter.