The city of Memphis occupies a unique place in the history of the American South. At one time a remote frontier outpost, it developed into one of the most important centers of trade in middle America, becoming a literal and figurative crossroads. As a major hub along the East-West land route and the North-South river route, the city served to cultivate a nascent style of music. With W.C. Handy and others turning the jazz sounds that made their way up the Mississippi River from New Orleans into a burgeoning new genre, Beale Street became known as the center of the blues.

The influence of blues and the related idioms of jazz and rock is hinted at throughout Tennessee Crossroads. Biting harmonies derived from extended major/minor sonorities typical of jazz are stated at the outset and reappear several times. Numerous melodic lines refer to blues licks and syncopation. Most evident is the hazy twelve-bar blues-like passage that appears in the middle of the piece, suggesting — without quite stating outright — its origin.

The musical depiction of Memphis takes several forms. Lively cross-rhythms and rhythmic layering suggest the hustle and bustle of the city in its heyday. Recurring rhythmic ostinatos impart the image of trade boats floating down the Mississippi. Moments of thick, almost wild textures, depict the atmosphere of controlled chaos, which must have been the essence of Beale Street on a Saturday night.

Composed in 1996, and approximately twelve minutes in duration, Tennessee Crossroads is the final piece of a three-piece set, in which each movement is based on a place in the South.