Opus number: op. 119

Title: The Book of Blues (words and music by Larry Bell)

Instrumentation: Baritone voice and Piano

Texts: 1. There’s a cold wind blowin’ 2. It was (is) a good life to be a slave 3. He wears his money on his sleeve 4. Why can’t we all get along?

Date written: 2013

Length: ten minutes

Premiere performance: September 17, 2013 David Friend Recital Hall, Berklee College of Music; Philip Lima-baritone, Larry Bell-piano

Program notes: The Book of Blues, Op. 119, is a set of songs for voice and piano that center on the form and style of American blues. The texts are by the composer and focus on the problems of race, politics, and religion as experienced from the perspective of the 21^st century.