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Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War
At the height of the ideological antagonism of the Cold War, the U.S. State Department unleashed an unexpected tool in its battle against 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.
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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 17, 2004
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June 4, 2018
This is a very informative book about the U.S. State Department's efforts to use jazz artists and their music as weapons during the Cold War. The aim was (1) to deploy black artists in order to represent the USA as being racially egalitarian, (2) to overcome the Soviet Union's very successful efforts in deploying classical European music and ballet, (3) to win the hearts and minds of Third Worlders, and (4) to offset the unpopularity of US foreign policy as it moved from a (seeming) ally and champion of newly independent Third World states to world wide hegemony.
The stature of musicians sent, the length of their tours, the number of cities they visited, their sheer joy in playing to international audiences -- all this is astonishing even for someone who, like me, is relatively familiar with jazz history.
Von Eschen shows that one of the ironies of the Cold War is that it forced the US to send black artists as ambassadors of US freedom and democracy even as those same musicians were mostly unable to access these freedoms at home. These musicians -- Armstrong, Diz, Ellington, Basie, Brubeck, Mingus, Miles, Rollins, Randy Weston, to name a few -- took advantage of this contradiction in two ways: they strengthened their art by accepting government funding and prestige; and, they did not portray a view of the US for which the State Department hoped. Instead, they exposed the problems of racism in the US, created solidarity with local musicians and lay people, and championed a transnational and diasporic legacy of jazz as apposed to a US exceptionalist reading offered by their sponsors.
Third World people knew and appreciated these musicians and their music. They were welcomed (except for Benny Goodman) with warmth and wild enthusiasm. However, Von Eschen makes clear that their love of jazz did not stop their trenchant criticism of US imperialism.
The book is excellent in its presentation of how the US used art in service of imperialism and how these intentions were subverted into far more positive outcomes by the musicians and their audience.
The stature of musicians sent, the length of their tours, the number of cities they visited, their sheer joy in playing to international audiences -- all this is astonishing even for someone who, like me, is relatively familiar with jazz history.
Von Eschen shows that one of the ironies of the Cold War is that it forced the US to send black artists as ambassadors of US freedom and democracy even as those same musicians were mostly unable to access these freedoms at home. These musicians -- Armstrong, Diz, Ellington, Basie, Brubeck, Mingus, Miles, Rollins, Randy Weston, to name a few -- took advantage of this contradiction in two ways: they strengthened their art by accepting government funding and prestige; and, they did not portray a view of the US for which the State Department hoped. Instead, they exposed the problems of racism in the US, created solidarity with local musicians and lay people, and championed a transnational and diasporic legacy of jazz as apposed to a US exceptionalist reading offered by their sponsors.
Third World people knew and appreciated these musicians and their music. They were welcomed (except for Benny Goodman) with warmth and wild enthusiasm. However, Von Eschen makes clear that their love of jazz did not stop their trenchant criticism of US imperialism.
The book is excellent in its presentation of how the US used art in service of imperialism and how these intentions were subverted into far more positive outcomes by the musicians and their audience.
February 26, 2020
A fascinating look at how the US government deployed black jazz musicians as part of their anti-Communist propaganda efforts, and how those efforts in turn affected and shaped the American civil rights movement. The State Department "marketed" African-American jazz around the world, particularly in countries where the US was competing with Russia for influence, in two ways: (1) as an attempt to demonstrate America's lack of racism (Russian propaganda frequently cited racial tensions as evidence of America's backwardness); and (2) as an example of the wildly creative things possible in a free and unstifled (i.e. non-Communist) society. Whether or not the project had any effect in countering Communism internationally is questionable, but it most definitely had an effect on the civil rights movement in the US. After all, one can't send a bunch of folks around the world as honored representatives of their country, and then expect them to accept Jim Crow laws and voter suppression back home. The book isn't written in a terribly compelling or readable style, but the content is super interesting and I learned a lot. (As a bonus, there are a few humorous anecdotes in which conservative Congressmen get rather cranky about the "misuse" of government money for such a stupid thing as "the arts." Some things never change...)
December 1, 2017
“What is jazz? If they gotta ask, they ain’t goin to know.”-Louis Armstrong
In the mid 1950’s, the Cold War was heating up and independence movements were springing up all over Asia, Europe, and Africa. In the United States, the State Department worried (rightly so) that its image abroad was one of supporting the colonial order both in spirit and in practice. Newly independent countries were turning to Russia for idealogical and technical support as well as hosting Russian cultural exports such as the Bolshoi ballet. In response, the State Department began a program that would exist for almost 40 years in which it sent the most talented musicians of their eras on tours around the developing world.
How these tours originated, their purpose, and how the participating musicians and audiences interpreted them is the story of “Satchmo Blows the World”. As someone who didn’t even know such a program existed I was, excuse the pun, blown away by the information here. Von Eschen persuasively argues that these tours were primarily to counter negative publicity the US was receiving in strategic areas around the world. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Eastern Bloc, and countries in Africa rich in minerals the US was expropriating, were prime targets for these tours. At times, musicians such as Louis Armstrong during his tour of the Belgian Congo in 1961, were present during a US backed military coup.
What makes this book particularly interesting is not simply that these programs existed, but how the musicians reacted to them. Often asked to play to select audiences made up of diplomats or wealthy government officials, musicians like Armstrong demanded that regular people be admitted to his shows as well. The musicians also were adamant about being able to interact with other musicians in a given country whereas the State Department didn’t see any relevance to allowing for it. This would be one of many issues of contention between government and the musicians on tour who clearly saw the role of this program in very different ways. Even the word “jazz” became a bone of contention, with the State Department advertising “jazz shows” and Armstrong taking the stage and saying jazz can be anything, stop calling it jazz.
Ultimately, the musicians while dependent on the government for the opportunity to travel, were extremely independent once they arrived. They were not shy about voicing their opinions and spending time with the people they chose to. In a sense, both the government and the musicians accomplished their goals in that the US was able to present a positive cultural image when it was badly in need of one. Yet one can’t help but feel that the musicians were the real winners here in that their music, rather than leading people toward American style democracy, reinforced their sense of independence and desire to stay that way.
In the mid 1950’s, the Cold War was heating up and independence movements were springing up all over Asia, Europe, and Africa. In the United States, the State Department worried (rightly so) that its image abroad was one of supporting the colonial order both in spirit and in practice. Newly independent countries were turning to Russia for idealogical and technical support as well as hosting Russian cultural exports such as the Bolshoi ballet. In response, the State Department began a program that would exist for almost 40 years in which it sent the most talented musicians of their eras on tours around the developing world.
How these tours originated, their purpose, and how the participating musicians and audiences interpreted them is the story of “Satchmo Blows the World”. As someone who didn’t even know such a program existed I was, excuse the pun, blown away by the information here. Von Eschen persuasively argues that these tours were primarily to counter negative publicity the US was receiving in strategic areas around the world. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Eastern Bloc, and countries in Africa rich in minerals the US was expropriating, were prime targets for these tours. At times, musicians such as Louis Armstrong during his tour of the Belgian Congo in 1961, were present during a US backed military coup.
What makes this book particularly interesting is not simply that these programs existed, but how the musicians reacted to them. Often asked to play to select audiences made up of diplomats or wealthy government officials, musicians like Armstrong demanded that regular people be admitted to his shows as well. The musicians also were adamant about being able to interact with other musicians in a given country whereas the State Department didn’t see any relevance to allowing for it. This would be one of many issues of contention between government and the musicians on tour who clearly saw the role of this program in very different ways. Even the word “jazz” became a bone of contention, with the State Department advertising “jazz shows” and Armstrong taking the stage and saying jazz can be anything, stop calling it jazz.
Ultimately, the musicians while dependent on the government for the opportunity to travel, were extremely independent once they arrived. They were not shy about voicing their opinions and spending time with the people they chose to. In a sense, both the government and the musicians accomplished their goals in that the US was able to present a positive cultural image when it was badly in need of one. Yet one can’t help but feel that the musicians were the real winners here in that their music, rather than leading people toward American style democracy, reinforced their sense of independence and desire to stay that way.
April 3, 2024
Such a fascinating read about the U.S. State Department’s Jazz Ambassadors program. It talks about how jazz was selected as a uniquely Americana art form to promote globally during the Cold War, and Black musicians were selected as ambassadors. It’s a fascinating dive in American racism and imperialism. The audacity of having musicians perform after American-backed coups. I will say the writing was a smidge dry, but I still enjoyed it!
October 4, 2021
I wanted to learn what was behind my favorite jazz album, Duke Ellington's Far East Suite. I did, but ended up with an insight into this fascinating program, its successes, limitations, its irony, its heroes (Diz), villains (Nixon), and some of each (Benny), its stories.
Want to read
March 28, 2008For my history of American popular music class.
This, like so many others, is going back into the "to read" stack. What I was able to read before class was very, very interesting and well written. Some of my classmates complained about it being wordy--I hardly noticed because I found it engaging. I love jazz and this book made me love jazz musicians even more than before. I look forward to reading it in its entirety.
This, like so many others, is going back into the "to read" stack. What I was able to read before class was very, very interesting and well written. Some of my classmates complained about it being wordy--I hardly noticed because I found it engaging. I love jazz and this book made me love jazz musicians even more than before. I look forward to reading it in its entirety.
March 25, 2012
Pretty good. A little repetitive, but I loved the irony behind sending black musicians to prove to the rest of the world that we're not racist while Jim Crow laws still dominate at home. Good one, U.S. Good one.
November 7, 2021
𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤
“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 (including “Dizzy” Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington) 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.
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.”
• Von Eschen’s research follows the neglected story of the way the U.S. State Department tried to win the Cold War by appealing to hearts and minds around the world through the United States’ greatest jazz musicians. While U.S. government officials determined it was in the country’s best interest to embark on a self-conscious campaign against worldwide criticism of racial policies in the United States (namely the upholding of segregation), the jazz ambassadors acted on their own agency and publicly denounced the United States’ blatant hypocrisy.
• By choosing to distance themselves from the objectives of the State Department and by choosing to promote jazz as a universal art form, the musicians participated in a true exchange of ideas and culture.
• Fantastic research, but a pretty dry read if you know little about the jazz artists going in (like me 🙁). I wish I had watched a few documentaries and listened to a few albums before reading this!
“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 (including “Dizzy” Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington) 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.
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.”
• Von Eschen’s research follows the neglected story of the way the U.S. State Department tried to win the Cold War by appealing to hearts and minds around the world through the United States’ greatest jazz musicians. While U.S. government officials determined it was in the country’s best interest to embark on a self-conscious campaign against worldwide criticism of racial policies in the United States (namely the upholding of segregation), the jazz ambassadors acted on their own agency and publicly denounced the United States’ blatant hypocrisy.
• By choosing to distance themselves from the objectives of the State Department and by choosing to promote jazz as a universal art form, the musicians participated in a true exchange of ideas and culture.
• Fantastic research, but a pretty dry read if you know little about the jazz artists going in (like me 🙁). I wish I had watched a few documentaries and listened to a few albums before reading this!
April 11, 2024
This was a very good book that looks at cultural exchange tours sponsored by the State Department from the 1950s through the 1970s. These were mainly jazz bands, but also included some rock as well as dance ensembles. The crux of the book is that jazz was presented as a quintessentially American art form that counters the idea of racial strife in the United States. By presenting it to a global audience, it showed the best of American culture by demonstrating freedom and interracial cooperation. President Eisenhower himself pushed the program, not realizing that the artists/entertainers may have a different perception of America and a different agenda to present. Some, like Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, presented jazz as part of the unfulfilled promise of an America that still had significant racial issues to address. In addition, the nature of performance leads audiences to their own interpretations that may not have been what the performer intended, much less what the planners wanted.
There are a lot of interesting themes/issues in the book. One was the State Department's choices of whom to sponsor. Dizzy Gillespie was cutting edge jazz but sometimes State would send someone "safer" like Benny Goodman, even though his music was horribly out of fashion by then. Another was that the "jazz ambassadors" were representing the United States as a sort of soft power, but they were caught up in the reactions to U.S. hard power. Changes in US policy and perceived US insecurity in the 1970s made the environment for some tours very tense, as US popularity plummeted.
Overall, this is a very good book that I would highly recommend. It is an easy read until you get to the epilogue, where Von Eschen gets very jargony in trying to pull some deep conclusions out of her story. Even with that, it is definitely worth a read if you are interested in jazz or American soft power.
There are a lot of interesting themes/issues in the book. One was the State Department's choices of whom to sponsor. Dizzy Gillespie was cutting edge jazz but sometimes State would send someone "safer" like Benny Goodman, even though his music was horribly out of fashion by then. Another was that the "jazz ambassadors" were representing the United States as a sort of soft power, but they were caught up in the reactions to U.S. hard power. Changes in US policy and perceived US insecurity in the 1970s made the environment for some tours very tense, as US popularity plummeted.
Overall, this is a very good book that I would highly recommend. It is an easy read until you get to the epilogue, where Von Eschen gets very jargony in trying to pull some deep conclusions out of her story. Even with that, it is definitely worth a read if you are interested in jazz or American soft power.
February 19, 2025
In Satchmo Blows Up the World, Penny M. Von Eschen outlines the U.S. State Department’s decision to fund and organize jazz music tours as cultural presentations abroad. The State Department's outward intentions were to highlight and promote an art form that was culturally unique to America—jazz—though many other significant factors were not as well publicized. Globally, the United States’ reputation was tarnished by its prolonged involvement in the enslavement of Black people and continued racial inequalities during the Jim Crow era. Following World War II, the U.S. solidified its status as a dominant global power and aimed to restore its damaged reputation. Eschen describes the U.S.’s objective in asserting its role in the arts alongside Europe’s classical music influence and the Soviet Union’s ballet. By featuring African American jazz musicians, those in power hoped to shift global criticisms regarding U.S. racism (Eschen, 7). However, another motivating factor behind the scenes was driving State Department tours. Eschen explains how these programs also sought to maintain support from key allies in Latin America and the Middle East while attempting to win over potential dissidents in the Soviet Union and its aligned states. Not coincidentally, in U.S. efforts to solidify control of global resources (uranium and oil in particular) and influence electoral power in areas of conflict, CIA operations advanced alongside State Department tours.
Overall fascinating information, though I did feel that toward the end, namely during the second Soviet tour, Eschen seemed to start checking out, and thus, so did I.
Overall fascinating information, though I did feel that toward the end, namely during the second Soviet tour, Eschen seemed to start checking out, and thus, so did I.
April 28, 2020
Fun read for me - history, race, racism, politics, cold war, CIA shenanigans/assassinations, multi-forms of jazz.
Agree with others that Von Eschen was a wee bit repetitious with her comments about the hypocrisy of sending black goodwill music ambassadors to win over developing countries at the same time Jim Crow was rampant in the South, racism was exhibited by the State Dept officials organizing the goodwill tours, and the CIA was ensuring our access to African uranium wasn't impeded.
Satchmo is in the title and on the cover but actually gets less coverage than other jazz ambassadors.
Good coverage of the issues around 'classic jazz' - say Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Brubank groups - and the more free styles by Gillespie, Coleman, Mingus, etc.
The book ends on the note that once popular music, eg 5th Dimension, Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, could successfully tour on their own world-wide, and jazz was an established organic music form in so many countries, it was no longer necessary for the State Dept. to sponsor the tours.
Agree with others that Von Eschen was a wee bit repetitious with her comments about the hypocrisy of sending black goodwill music ambassadors to win over developing countries at the same time Jim Crow was rampant in the South, racism was exhibited by the State Dept officials organizing the goodwill tours, and the CIA was ensuring our access to African uranium wasn't impeded.
Satchmo is in the title and on the cover but actually gets less coverage than other jazz ambassadors.
Good coverage of the issues around 'classic jazz' - say Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Brubank groups - and the more free styles by Gillespie, Coleman, Mingus, etc.
The book ends on the note that once popular music, eg 5th Dimension, Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, could successfully tour on their own world-wide, and jazz was an established organic music form in so many countries, it was no longer necessary for the State Dept. to sponsor the tours.
March 15, 2024
Although occasionally too scholarly in tone, the overall impact of this little bit of history is an in depth and really interesting look at a period of time (roughly from the 1950s to the 1970s) when the US State Department backed tours of famous jazz artists like Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie in order to spread the best of American culture around the world. It didn't always go as planned, as the artists - mostly black and highly political - were often outspoken about the problems of race in America. But their amazing musicianship, their willingness to learn from musicians everywhere, and their pride in representing their country to the world resulted in some lasting relationships, and some powerful PR for a US challenged by the Cold War, the onset of the Vietnam War, and the best and worst of race relations. A very cool way to look at the role of the arts in "selling" our country to the world.
April 2, 2019
I really enjoyed this, especially the insight on shifting perceptions of jazz both in the US and abroad. I do think this book could've been a little more critical of the objective of these tours. I had the "the Americans have colonized my mind" scene from Kings of the Road in my head the entire time. The tension between the State Department and the jazz musicians over their intended audience was also fascinating. The State Department's hyperfocus on the neocolonial elite in Africa and the Middle East -- unsurprising. The State Department suddenly having a change of heart for the USSR tours (and only for the USSR tours) because they wanted to reach the "common working man" -- lmao.
Also, I learned Benny Goodman was apparently a huge dick who shoved his clarinet in a band member's ear. A mess.
Also, I learned Benny Goodman was apparently a huge dick who shoved his clarinet in a band member's ear. A mess.
September 27, 2018
A great alternative history of the Cold War. This cultural history discusses the manner in which the United States attempted to influence foreign policy through cultural engagement. Von Eschen also illustrates that SOME of the point of the Jazz Ambassadors was to provide distractions or possibly even cover for covert CIA operations.
I am using this for a program at work and we will talk a little about the "lower stakes contests" of the Cold War that Jazz was much cheaper than engaging in the space race and far preferable to the Arms Race as Bebop and Swing jazz allowed the United States to engage in "contests" with the Soviet Union that never got us any closer to war.
I am using this for a program at work and we will talk a little about the "lower stakes contests" of the Cold War that Jazz was much cheaper than engaging in the space race and far preferable to the Arms Race as Bebop and Swing jazz allowed the United States to engage in "contests" with the Soviet Union that never got us any closer to war.
May 4, 2019
During the 1960s and 70s the us state department had cultural exchange trips sending jazz musicians and modern dancers and even the occasional rock and roll band to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the USSR and Africa. This was the time of the Cold War and the civil and equal rights movements - interesting contrasts when black American jazz musicians encountered other cultures and criticized their own. A detailed history of some of the cultural exchanges and the musicians, politicians and bureaucrats. Interesting, but easy to get lost in.
Dizzy for president!!
Dizzy for president!!
March 17, 2020
Very well executed study of the State Department-sponsored culture tours of the 50s and 60s. Von Eschen knows the domestic racial politics, the aesthetic cross-currents, and the global setting well and weaves them together in ways that do justice to each. Particularly good on the differences in the ways Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck and Duke Ellington handled their "cultural ambassador" status. I learned a lot about the festival of the African diasporic arts held in Dakar in 1966.
August 10, 2022
An interesting book that explores jazz concerts around the world sponsored by the State Department during the Cold War. Explores how complicated these missions were, often getting entangled in segregation issues in Cold War America.
August 11, 2025
Anything jazz is a love for me; something I appreciate and admire. So, to read about the jazz greats and their story, especially in the sense of their politic and ability to use their music as a methdo of freedom is speech. Great read.
September 27, 2019
Fascinating story of an often-ignored part of American music/political history.
April 3, 2024
Maybe it just went over my head but it was soooo boring and I didn’t really get it
April 25, 2024
i read this book for class, it was def really interesting but the way that books like this are written are sooo hard for me to read. i just feel like im being overloaded by information
June 25, 2024
If you love jazz, Cold War history or politics you will love this book. It is a detailed and well documented book showing how jazz players helped while simultaneously staying true to their beliefs.
February 9, 2025
so cool & very interesting. a perspective of history that id never heard of before & a book about the impact of the arts that i think everyone should read
May 14, 2025
Read for class love
February 15, 2008
What a terrific book this is! From the mid-1950s to the late-1980s, the State Department's Jazz Ambassadors program sent many of the US's greatest jazz musicians on good will tours throughout the world; Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins and many others were dispatched to the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia as part of a musical hearts-and-minds campaign designed to showcase American culture, generate some positively publicity about American race relations, function as Cold War propaganda, and provide a distraction from some of our more egregious international actions. Von Eschen tells this story, but she's not so much interested in chronicling the Jazz Ambassador program as she is in exploring the many contradictions that the program opened up. Tensions ran rife throughout the history of the program: between the State Dept. and the musicians (who tended to have very different ideas about how well American race relations were going, as well as about who the ideal audience for jazz was); between State and Congress (the program was continually attacked by conservative congressman, some of whom saw all arts funding as a waste of money and others of whom saw a popular art form with its origins in black culture as unworthy of representing America abroad); and between the musicians themselves (particularly between old-school and new-school jazzmen). Von Eschen uses these tensions to explore questions of culture, race, and democracy at mid-century, all while telling a great story full of fascinating characters (my favorite being King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, a jazz lover and accomplished sax and clarinet player who held all-night jam sessions with Benny Goodman). Von Eschen ultimately concludes that the Jazz Ambassador program was a success, though not in the ways the government had hoped it would be, because it allowed musicians to connect directly with their counterparts and ordinary people throughout the world (and not so much through governments as beyond governments). In the end, the Jazz Ambassadors may have practiced a headier version of democracy that the U.S. was willing to preach; it’s a story worth knowing and remembering, and it is well-told here.
April 26, 2023
As a university student, I had the opportunity to read Penny M. Von Eschen's Satchmo Blows Up the World as part of a course assignment. At the time, I had little understanding of the profound impact that the Jazz Ambassadors had during the Cold War era. However, Von Eschen's meticulously researched and engaging account of this fascinating period in history opened my eyes to the complex interplay between music, politics, and cultural diplomacy.
Satchmo Blows Up the World delves into the stories of legendary jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman, who were sent as cultural ambassadors by the United States government to perform in countries around the world during the height of the Cold War. The book explores how these artists, despite facing their own struggles with racism and discrimination at home, served as representatives of American culture and democratic values abroad.
Von Eschen's scholarly approach ensures that the book is not only informative but also thoroughly engaging. By incorporating personal anecdotes, newspaper articles, and diplomatic correspondence, she paints a vivid picture of the global impact of these musicians and the challenges they faced as they navigated the political minefield of the Cold War.
The book also delves into the ways in which the Jazz Ambassadors' performances influenced the world of music, both during the Cold War and in the years that followed. It examines how the musicians' unique blend of talent, charisma, and cultural diplomacy helped to break down barriers and foster understanding between nations, ultimately changing the course of history.
Satchmo Blows Up the World is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring a more scholarly view of the Jazz Ambassadors and their role in shaping the world during the Cold War. It offers a fascinating glimpse into a lesser-known aspect of this turbulent period in history, showcasing the power of music as a tool for diplomacy and cultural exchange. The book left a lasting impression on me. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the extraordinary story of the Jazz Ambassadors and their enduring legacy.
Satchmo Blows Up the World delves into the stories of legendary jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman, who were sent as cultural ambassadors by the United States government to perform in countries around the world during the height of the Cold War. The book explores how these artists, despite facing their own struggles with racism and discrimination at home, served as representatives of American culture and democratic values abroad.
Von Eschen's scholarly approach ensures that the book is not only informative but also thoroughly engaging. By incorporating personal anecdotes, newspaper articles, and diplomatic correspondence, she paints a vivid picture of the global impact of these musicians and the challenges they faced as they navigated the political minefield of the Cold War.
The book also delves into the ways in which the Jazz Ambassadors' performances influenced the world of music, both during the Cold War and in the years that followed. It examines how the musicians' unique blend of talent, charisma, and cultural diplomacy helped to break down barriers and foster understanding between nations, ultimately changing the course of history.
Satchmo Blows Up the World is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring a more scholarly view of the Jazz Ambassadors and their role in shaping the world during the Cold War. It offers a fascinating glimpse into a lesser-known aspect of this turbulent period in history, showcasing the power of music as a tool for diplomacy and cultural exchange. The book left a lasting impression on me. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the extraordinary story of the Jazz Ambassadors and their enduring legacy.
October 11, 2015
Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the US civil rights movement, and the emergence of 40 new African and Asian countries recently freed from colonialism, the US State Department sent African American jazz musicians, like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and David Brubeck as American goodwill ambassadors “into countries where communism had a foothold” (7). Through these tours, the State Department sought to shape the world in an American liberal image, as well as to revitalize and secure the idea of America abroad, by promoting “a vision of color-blind democracy” (4) and a uniquely American modernist art form – jazz.
From their inception in the mid-1950s, the state sanctioned jazz tours were for the most part extremely popular in locales as far afield as Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The color-blind and America-born mythologies that fueled the tour broke down, however, as performers voiced their own views on racial politics and established relationships with jazz enthusiasts the world over.
In 1978, the curtain closed on State Department sponsorship of international jazz tours, ending a more than thirty-year period of transnational artistic diplomacy, exchange, and rebellion. Penny Von Eschen concludes, “[P]art of the reason the era ended lies in the very character of jazz itself. An art form born of transnational upheaval and grounded in innovation and improvisation could not be contained by one nation” (249).
From their inception in the mid-1950s, the state sanctioned jazz tours were for the most part extremely popular in locales as far afield as Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The color-blind and America-born mythologies that fueled the tour broke down, however, as performers voiced their own views on racial politics and established relationships with jazz enthusiasts the world over.
In 1978, the curtain closed on State Department sponsorship of international jazz tours, ending a more than thirty-year period of transnational artistic diplomacy, exchange, and rebellion. Penny Von Eschen concludes, “[P]art of the reason the era ended lies in the very character of jazz itself. An art form born of transnational upheaval and grounded in innovation and improvisation could not be contained by one nation” (249).
September 10, 2015
I found it weird though that there was no introduction for the book. it might be hard for most readers to start a book whithout knowing the writers intenstions and goals from presenting his/her work.The book gives detailed description of the jazz tours sponsored by the American government starting 1956. Implementing the contradictions of this government concerning the situation of African Americans situation and how these situations are different domestically and internationally. However Von Eschen explains that these jazz tours demonstrates how the ambassadors often challenged and argued with the US government. One of things I liked too and wished to read more about it is the relations that were established between the African American artists and the international musicians. And Eschen mentioned quickly there was influence on musicians around the world to perform in the United States.
July 9, 2018
A little dry, but very informative.
March 4, 2010
A wonderful book about how jazz musicians were used by the State Department as "cultural ambassadors" during the Cold War. This book seamlessly blends Cold War history from both an American and an international point of view.
The best part of the book, though, was discussing it with 30 other history teachers and 1 fabulous UNR professor. The discussion ranged from racism at home and abroad, how the world views Americans versus American foreign policy and the pros/cons of "cultural history."
But, for the non-history teacher book clubbers of the world, this is still a marvelous twist on Cold War history.
The best part of the book, though, was discussing it with 30 other history teachers and 1 fabulous UNR professor. The discussion ranged from racism at home and abroad, how the world views Americans versus American foreign policy and the pros/cons of "cultural history."
But, for the non-history teacher book clubbers of the world, this is still a marvelous twist on Cold War history.
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