Blood on the Fields


Blood on the Fields is a two-and-a-half-hour jazz oratorio, by Wynton Marsalis. It was commissioned by Lincoln Center and treats the history of slavery and its aftermath in the United States of America. The oratorio tells the story of two slaves, Jesse and Leona, as they traverse the difficult journey to freedom. The narrative suggests that the individual freedom and agency of its protagonists is necessarily and inextricably intertwined with the empowerment of the community and nation as a whole. The work received the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Music., being the first time the prize was ever given for a jazz music composition, an honor that had previously been reserved for classical composers.

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

    Disc 2

  8. Lady's Lament
  9. Flying High
  10. Oh We Have a Friend in Jesus
  11. God Don't Like Ugly
  12. Juba and a O'Brown Squaw
  13. Follow the Drinking Gourd
  14. My Soul Fell Down
  15. Forty Lashes
  16. What a Fool I've Been
  17. Back to Basics

    Disc 3

  18. I Hold Out My Hand
  19. Look and See
  20. The Sun Is Gonna Shine
  21. Will the Sun Come Out?
  22. The Sun Is Gonna Shine
  23. Chant to Call the Indians Out
  24. Calling the Indians Out
  25. Follow the Drinking Gourd
  26. Freedom Is in the Trying
  27. Due North

    Musicians