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.[3] The work received the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Music,[4] being the first time the prize was ever given for a jazz music composition, an honor that had previously been reserved for classical composers.