Jazz Diplomacy

Promoting America in the Cold War Era

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Music Styles, Jazz & Blues, Jazz, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Jazz Diplomacy by Lisa E. Davenport, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lisa E. Davenport ISBN: 9781604733440
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: July 20, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Lisa E. Davenport
ISBN: 9781604733440
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: July 20, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

Jazz as an instrument of global diplomacy transformed superpower relations in the Cold War era and reshaped democracy's image worldwide. Lisa E. Davenport tells the story of America's program of jazz diplomacy practiced in the Soviet Union and other regions of the world from 1954 to 1968. Jazz music and jazz musicians seemed an ideal card to play in diminishing the credibility and appeal of Soviet communism in the Eastern bloc and beyond. Government-funded musical junkets by such jazz masters as Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman dramatically influenced perceptions of the U.S. and its capitalist brand of democracy while easing political tensions in the midst of critical Cold War crises. This book shows how, when coping with foreign questions about desegregation, the dispute over the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, jazz players and their handlers wrestled with the inequalities of race and the emergence of class conflict while promoting America in a global context. And, as jazz musicians are wont to do, many of these ambassadors riffed off script when the opportunity arose.

Jazz Diplomacy argues that this musical method of winning hearts and minds often transcended economic and strategic priorities. Even so, the goal of containing communism remained paramount, and it prevailed over America's policy of redefining relations with emerging new nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Jazz as an instrument of global diplomacy transformed superpower relations in the Cold War era and reshaped democracy's image worldwide. Lisa E. Davenport tells the story of America's program of jazz diplomacy practiced in the Soviet Union and other regions of the world from 1954 to 1968. Jazz music and jazz musicians seemed an ideal card to play in diminishing the credibility and appeal of Soviet communism in the Eastern bloc and beyond. Government-funded musical junkets by such jazz masters as Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman dramatically influenced perceptions of the U.S. and its capitalist brand of democracy while easing political tensions in the midst of critical Cold War crises. This book shows how, when coping with foreign questions about desegregation, the dispute over the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam, and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, jazz players and their handlers wrestled with the inequalities of race and the emergence of class conflict while promoting America in a global context. And, as jazz musicians are wont to do, many of these ambassadors riffed off script when the opportunity arose.

Jazz Diplomacy argues that this musical method of winning hearts and minds often transcended economic and strategic priorities. Even so, the goal of containing communism remained paramount, and it prevailed over America's policy of redefining relations with emerging new nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book He Slew the Dreamer by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Cajun and Creole Folktales by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book George Ohr by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Ed King’s Mississippi by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Eddy Arnold by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Transformed by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book The Christ-Haunted Landscape by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Richard Dyer-Bennet by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book The Comics of Hergé by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Bright Fields by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book You Don’t Know Jack by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Talking New Orleans Music by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book City of Islands by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Harmony Korine by Lisa E. Davenport
Cover of the book Danny Boyle by Lisa E. Davenport
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy