Jazz ambassadors

In 1968, the US State Department created the Jazz Ambassadors program, hiring leading American Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington to be "ambassadors" for the United States overseas, particularly to improve the public image of the US in the light of criticism from the Soviet Union around racial inequality and racial tension.^[1] Dave Brubeck also participated in the project, and (like many) was critical of the experience. He and his wife Iola Brubeck later wrote The Real Ambassadors, a musical, about it.

Since then, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the US State Department has sponsored the Jazz Ambassadors in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Alongside performances, they also conduct master classes and lecture-recitals for local musicians in addition to performing public concerts. The State Department also sponsors hip-hop artists, particularly in the Middle East, for similar purposes.^[2]

References