Satchmo blows up the world : jazz ambassadors play the Cold War / Penny M. Von Eschen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Von Eschen, Penny M. (Penny Marie)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Music and state--United States.

Music and state.

Cold War--Music and the war.

Cold War.

Jazz musicians--Travel.

Jazz musicians.

United States--Foreign relations--1945-1989.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 329 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

At the height of the ideological antagonism of the Cold War, the U.S. State Department unleashed an unexpected tool in its battle against Communism: jazz. From 1956 through the late 1970s, America dispatched its finest jazz musicians to the far corners of the earth, from Iraq to India, from the Congo to the Soviet Union, in order to win the hearts and minds of the Third World and to counter perceptions of American racism. Penny Von Eschen escorts us across the globe, backstage and onstage, as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and other jazz luminaries spread their music and their ideas further than the State Department anticipated. Both in concert and after hours, through political statements and romantic liaisons, these musicians broke through the government's official narrative and gave their audiences an unprecedented vision of the black American experience. In the process, new collaborations developed between Americans and the formerly colonized peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East--collaborations that fostered greater racial pride and solidarity. Though intended as a color-blind promotion of democracy, this unique Cold War strategy unintentionally demonstrated the essential role of African Americans in U.S. national culture. Through the tales of these tours, Von Eschen captures the fascinating interplay between the efforts of the State Department and the progressive agendas of the artists themselves, as all struggled to redefine a more inclusive and integrated American nation on the world stage.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

CHAPTER 1 Ike Gets Dizzy

CHAPTER 2 Swinging into Action: Jazz to the Rescue

CHAPTER 3 The Real Ambassador

CHAPTER 4 Getting the Soviets to Swing

CHAPTER 5 Duke’s Diplomacy

CHAPTER 6 Jazz, Gospel, and R&B Black Power Abroad

CHAPTER 7 Improvising Détente

CHAPTER 8 Playing the International Changes

CHAPTER 9 Epilogue

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Originally published: 2004.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674268159

0674268156

9780674044715

0674044711

OCLC:

923111010