SIDEMEN
Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Eric Clapton (guitar, vocal), Dan Nim… Read Full Bio ↴SIDEMEN
Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Eric Clapton (guitar, vocal), Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Ali Jackson (drums), Marcus Printup (trumpet), Victor Goines (clarinet), Chris Crenshaw (trombone, vocals), Don Vappie (banjo), Chris Stainton (keyboard).

DESCRIPTION
New York City’s premier jazz venue got the blues last April when Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton performed together in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center for two sold-out shows dedicated to vintage blues. The extraordinary collaboration, billed as Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues, paired these musical virtuosos with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as they brought to life a repertoire of songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis.

LINER NOTES
When Louis Armstrong was asked about different forms of popular music in the mid-1960′s, he responded, “…all these different kinds of fantastic music you hear today – course it’s all guitars now – I used to hear that way back in the old sanctified churches where the sisters used to shout till their petticoats fell down.” He was not attempting to navigate the generation gap. Pops was acknowledging the foundational experiences that inform all ‘rhythm section’ music. He was contextualizing a heritage that includes the Irish jig, West African musical traditions, the English Hymn, and the Negro spirituals synthesized and focused into one transcendent form: the blues.

When Eric Clapton and I first met, we began a friendship based in a love of music, nurtured in the mutual heritage we share, and ultimately expressed in the way we play with each other. From our first interactions, I recognized his intensity and seriousness about music. It is the result of countless hours of solitary practice throughout teenhood, of working and reworking the results of that practice on stage, night after night, all over the world. It is lightened by the joy of inventing new things to play, and humanized through the willful creation of community, regardless of personal situation. The lifelong pursuit of music evidences a deep love, but requires even deeper commitment from the extremely successful, because nothing extinguishes creativity with more fanfare than fame. Eric’s no-nonsense approach to playing and encyclopedic knowledge of blues styles testify to a passionate and evolving relationship with music, something we both pursue with single-minded focus.

In that spirit, we wanted these concerts to sound like people playing music they know and love, not like a project. We agreed to let the music show how the blues continues to speak with clarity and immediacy across all lines of segregation. We combined the sound of an early blues jump-band with the sound of New Orleans jazz to accommodate the integration of guitar/trumpet lead and to give us the latitude to play different grooves from the Delta to the Caribbean and beyond. New Orleans is a mythic birthplace of jazz, the blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. It is the perfect place to find our common heritage. We decided to use the instrumentation of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band plus two (electric guitar and piano), because they transformed the world of music with a set of 1923 recordings and, with performances like ‘Dipper Mouth Blues’, forever established the blues as a centerpiece of jazz.

Eric selected all of the songs on this concert (except ‘Layla’ which was requested by our bassist, Carlos Henriquez, and arranged as a Crescent City dirge/swing). From the 4-on-the-floor swing of ‘Ice Cream’ and the southern slow-drag of ‘Joe Turner’s Blues’ to the traveling blues of ‘Joliet Bound’ and the boogie-woogie jump of ‘Kidman Blues’, from the humorous refrain of an oft-disrespected lover in ‘The Last Time’ to the spiritual solemnity of ‘Just A Closer Walk with Thee’, he chose a diversity of songs from different regions with diverse and specific functions, grooves, and meanings. The set list alone is a testament to the sophistication of his taste.

Though raised in American music, I have learned much about various blues styles from the comprehensive and expertly curated playlist Eric periodically sends after a conversation. And, for me, it’s important to acknowledge at all times the supremacy of knowledge. This is especially true in a time when an image, someone’s race, or a colorful non-musical life-experience is used to create either a ‘blindness’ to cultural history, or the illusion of ‘realness’ whilst actual music is left unattended (and the knowledge of it is reduced to pretension).

This collaboration was a pure joy because Eric is about music. We didn’t have any pettiness or stupidity about anything small. It takes great courage to come to New York and learn 12 new arrangements in three days, front a band that you’ve never played with in a form of music you don’t normally play, play three concerts, and sing almost all of the material. Eric did this flawlessly, and after all of that he told me, “I’d rather play the rhythm parts than play any solos.” That’s why I love and respect him.
- Wynton Marsalis

Joliet Bound
Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Lyrics

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Now, police coming with his ball and chain, hmm
Police coming with his ball and chain
Now they accusing me of murder
Never harmed a man

Now, some got six months, some got one solid year, hmm
Some got six months, some got one solid year
Now me and my buddy

Got a lifetime here

Now, judge, he pleaded, clerk, he wrote it down, hmm
Judge, he pleaded, clerk, he wrote it down
If I miss real sentence time
Must be Joliet bound

Now, cook my supper, let me go today, hmm
Cook my supper now, let me go today
I've been drinking White Light
And it gone to my head

Now, quit me, babe, first thing you wanna do, hmm
Quit me, baby, first thing you wanna do
Someday you gonna want me
Said that I would want you too

Now, police shift is over, pistol in my side, hmm
Police shift is over, pistol in my side
If you run, big boy, now
Must be born to die

When they had my trial, you could not be found, hmm
Had my trial, you could not be found

And I got all messed up
Now I'm Joliet bound

Overall Meaning

The song "Joliet Bound" by Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton is a traditional blues song that tells the story of a man who has been accused of murder and is facing a lifetime in prison. The lyrics are filled with despair and resignation, as the singer reflects on his situation and the fate that awaits him.

The first verse describes the arrival of the police, who are coming to take the singer away to prison. He protests his innocence, saying he has never harmed anyone. The second verse talks about the varying sentences that his fellow inmates have received, ranging from six months to one year. The singer and his friend, however, have been sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

In the third verse, the judge and clerk record the sentence and the singer worries about missing his chance to leave before being taken to Joliet prison. In the fourth verse, he asks to be fed before he leaves as he has been drinking "White Light" and his head is spinning. The fifth verse talks about a lover leaving him and how this makes him feel. The final verse describes the singer being led away by the police and feeling resigned to his fate.

Overall, the lyrics describe a life filled with hardship and the inevitability of fate. The singer seems resigned to his fate and the listener is left with a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

Line by Line Meaning

Now, police coming with his ball and chain, hmm
The police are approaching to arrest me, and take me to prison.

Now they accusing me of murder Never harmed a man
The accusations against me are false, and I am innocent of any violent crimes.

Some got six months, some got one solid year, hmm Now me and my buddy Got a lifetime here
While some have relatively short sentences, my friend and I have been given life sentences.

Judge, he pleaded, clerk, he wrote it down, hmm If I miss real sentence time Must be Joliet bound
The ruling was made in court, the sentence was recorded, and if I don't make parole, I'll be sent to Joliet prison.

Cook my supper now, let me go today I've been drinking White Light And it gone to my head
After preparing a final meal for me, I'll be released from custody due to my intoxication from drinking White Light.

Quit me, baby, first thing you wanna do Someday you gonna want me Said that I would want you too
You may be eager to leave me now, but eventually you'll regret it and want me back, just as I always knew I would want you.

Police shift is over, pistol in my side, hmm If you run, big boy, now Must be born to die
The police officer has his gun pointed at me, and if I try to escape, he'll use lethal force to stop me.

Had my trial, you could not be found, hmm And I got all messed up Now I'm Joliet bound
You were nowhere to be found during my trial, and as a result of the verdict, I'm feeling lost and hopeless as I'm sent to Joliet prison.

Contributed by Joseph H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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