My name is Gary Zidek. Welcome to The Arts Section. Tune into the radio program every Sunday morning on WDCB 90.9 & 90.7 FM or listen to it online here. I'll be showcasing a variety of arts & entertainment stories.
Cold War Politics and the Civil Rights Movement Collide In New PBS Doc About the Jazz Ambassadors
WDCB's Gary Zidek talks to filmmaker Hugu Berkeley about his new documentary, THE JAZZ AMBASSADORS.
"What I looked for and hoped that I would find as I went through the process, was that emotional connection. How did these musicians feel about what they were being asked to do?" - Hugo Berkeley talking about the reservations some of the Jazz Ambassadors had.
The documentary shows how rising tensions caused by the Cold War led to the creation of the Jazz Ambassadors program. Starting in the mid-50's, America’s most influential jazz artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Dave Brubeck,agreed to take part in the initiative and travel the globe as cultural ambassadors.
Dizzy Gillespie was named the first Jazz Ambassador.
Over the decade, more than 20 tours featuring renowned American jazz musicians visit over 100 countries, even while the performers themselves questioned representing a nation still struggling to deal with segregation and intolerance.
While performing in the British West African colony of The Gold Coast (now Ghana), Louis Armstrong dedicates the iconic song “Black and Blue,” about the agony of racism, to Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah.
After his participation in the Jazz Ambassadors program, Dave Brubeck created a musical based on his experience titled THE REAL AMBASSADORS.
The U.S. State Department ended the Jazz Ambassadors program when Duke Ellington’s tour of the Middle East and India was tragically cut short by JFK’s assassination.
How is the Jazz Ambassadors program remembered? That's a complicated question, Berkeley hopes the documentary provides increased awareness of a unique diplomatic effort that made a difference.
THE JAZZ AMBASSADORS premieres May 4th at 10 p.m. on PBS stations all over the country, including WTTW in Chicago.