Blood on the Fields

Blood on the Fields
Box set by Wynton Marsalis
Released	1995
Recorded	April 1, 1994
Genre	Jazz
Label	Columbia

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Allmusic	[1]

Blood on the Fields is a three-and-a-half-hour jazz oratorio, by Wynton Marsalis. It was commissioned by Lincoln Center and concerns a couple moving from slavery to freedom.^[2]

It received the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Music. However, Marsalis' victory was controversial because according to the Pulitzer guidelines, his work was not eligible. Although a winning work was supposed to have had its first performance during that year, Marsalis' piece premiered on April 1, 1994 and its recording, released on Columbia Records, was dated 1995. Yet, the piece won the 1997 prize. Marsalis' management had submitted a "revised version" of "Blood on the Fields" which was "premiered" at Yale University after the composer made seven small changes.^[3] When asked what would make a revised work eligible, the chairman of that year's music jury, Robert Ward, said: "Not a cut here and there...or a slight revision," but rather something that changed "the whole conception of the piece." After being read the list of revisions that were made to the piece, Ward acknowledged that the minor changes should not have qualified it as eligible, but he said that "the list you had here was not available to us, and we did not discuss it."^[4]

Track listing

Disc 1

1. Calling The Indians Out
2. Move Over
3. You Don't Hear No Drums
4. The Market Place
5. Soul For Sale
6. Plantation Coffle March
7. Work Song (Blood On The Fields)

Disc 2

1. Lady's Lament
2. Flying High
3. Oh We Have A Friend In Jesus
4. God Don't Like Ugly
5. Juba And A O'Brown Squaw
6. Follow The Drinking Gourd
7. My Soul Fell Down
8. Forty Lashes
9. What A Fool I've Been
10. Back To Basics

Disc 3

1. I Hold Out My Hand
2. Look And See
3. The Sun Is Gonna Shine
4. Will The Sun Come Out?
5. The Sun Is Gonna Shine
6. Chant To Call The Indians Out
7. Calling The Indians Out
8. Follow The Drinking Gourd
9. Freedom Is In The Trying
10. Due North

Personnel

^[5]

• Wynton Marsalis - Composer, Trumpet, Oratory Vocal
• Jon Hendricks - Vocal
• Cassandra Wilson - Vocal
• Miles Griffith - Vocal
• Roger Ingram - Lead Trumpet, Oratory Vocal
• Marcus Printup - 2nd Trumpet, Oratory Vocal
• Russell Gunn - 3rd Trumpet, Oratory Vocal
• Ron Westray - Lead Trombone, Oratory Vocal
• Wayne Goodman - 2nd Trombone, Oratory Vocal
• Wycliffe Gordon - Trombone and Tuba, Oratory Vocal
• Robert Stewart - Lead Tenor Saxophone, Oratory Vocal
• Wes Anderson - Lead Alto Saxophone, Oratory Vocal
• Victor Goines - Tenor, Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, Oratory Vocal
• Walter Blanding - Soprano Saxophone, Oratory Vocal
• James Carter - Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, Oratory Vocal
• Michael Ward - Violin, Oratory Vocal
• Eric Reed - Piano, Oratory Vocal
• Reginald Veal - Bass, Oratory Vocal
• Herlin Riley - Drums and Tambourine, Oratory Vocal

References

Pulitzer Prize for Music (1991–2000)
Shulamit Ran ('91): Symphony Wayne Peterson ('92): The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark Christopher Rouse ('93): Trombone Concerto Gunther Schuller ('94): Of Reminiscences and Reflections Morton Gould ('95): Stringmusic George Walker ('96): Lilacs Wynton Marsalis ('97): Blood on the Fields Aaron Jay Kernis ('98): String Quartet No. 2 Melinda Wagner ('99): Concerto for Flute, Strings, and Percussion Lewis Spratlan ('00): Life Is a Dream
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