American Jazz Musicians Played as Cold Warriors? [24min]

In the late '50s the world was a very different place. East and West were on a collision course. Many nations around the world were critical of the United States. The Americans were worrying about the foreign oil supply while at home, race relations were a big deal. Alright, maybe not so different. But the cold war had the Americans and the Soviets locked in a struggle for influence, and even culture was a battlefield. The USSR sent out its Bolshoi Ballet and classical musicians to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority. And in its quest for something uniquely American to fight back with, the U.S. turned to jazz. An unlikely choice perhaps, since many of the players were black at a time when the evils of segregation were fueling civil rights upheaval at home. Penny von Eschen has written all about it in her new bookSatchmo Blows Up The World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War (Harvard University Press). When she's not writing Von Eschen is associate Professor of History and African-American Studies at the University of Michigan.