'America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World' opens March 20 at Fowler Museum
From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and other jazz greats served as cultural diplomats, touring the globe on behalf of the U.S. State Department
(Media-Newswire.com) - From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and other jazz greats served as cultural diplomats, touring the globe on behalf of the U.S. State Department. Millions of people experienced their concerts and thrilled to the many styles and variations of the remarkable American art form called jazz music.
"Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World," a collection of photographs and documents chronicling these tours, will be on display at the Fowler Museum at UCLA from March 20 through Aug. 14.
These travels emerged as a part of a cultural Cold War in which both the Russians and Americans hoped to court people in newly independent countries by sending their best representatives. Americans worried that they could not compete with famous Soviet dancers and classical musicians but soon realized that the Russians could not claim jazz, a unique phenomenon that developed in the U.S. as a creative interaction of African and European musical forms.
Following the success of an initial goodwill voyage by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, America's "jazz ambassadors" continued to dazzle audiences on stage and off in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Asia and Latin America. Deeply curious about the music and people of other countries, these American artists are seen jamming with local musicians, visiting international monuments and exploring local cultures, in addition to performing concerts large and small.
Photographs drawn from important archives around the country show Quincy Jones striking a pose at the Acropolis in Greece, Duke Ellington and Paul Gonsalves sampling a hookah in Iraq, Louis Armstrong being carried in a palanquin into a stadium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more.
Along with nearly 100 mostly black-and-white photographs of these jazz legends visiting 35 countries, a fully functional stage will be built in the gallery, where live jazz will be performed intermittently throughout the exhibition's run. These performances will be announced on the Fowler's website ( www.fowler.ucla.edu ) and via Facebook ( www.facebook.com/fowlermuseum ) and Twitter ( www.twitter.com/fowlermuseum ).
"Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World" is guest curated by Curtis Sandberg, vice president for the arts at the Meridian International Center, with Penny M. Von Eschen, an expert in the history of jazz diplomacy and author of "Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War."
This exhibition is organized and circulated by the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C. Its Los Angeles presentation is supported in part by the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, the UCLA Graduate Division, the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, the Friends of Jazz at UCLA, the Shirley and Ralph Shapiro Director's Discretionary Fund, and the Yvonne Lenart Public Programs Fund.
Co-sponsors include the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA and the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology. In-kind support is provided by Remo D. Belli, CEO and founder of Remo Inc., and Keyboard Concepts Inc. The media sponsor is KJAZZ-88.1 FM.
Related opening events:
Saturday, March 19 7 p.m. Opening night concert and reception
The Fowler teams with the Friends of Jazz for a performance by UCLA faculty, students and special guests, under the direction of Kenny Burrell. A dessert reception and exhibition preview will follow.
Sunday, March 20 12–5 p.m. Opening day
1 p.m. In-gallery jazz performance
Hear one of UCLA's celebrated jazz combos live inside "Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World."
1–4 p.m. Kids in the Courtyard: 'Peanut, Peanut Butter…and JAZZ'
Celebrate the opening day of "Jam Session" with peanut butter and jam sandwiches and improvisational music-making led by UCLA students.
2 p.m. Fowler OutSpoken Conversation: Kenny Burrell and John Hasse — 'Jazz Diplomacy'
Since the end of World War II, the State Department has called on performing artists to play the role of cultural ambassadors, a practice that has experienced a resurgence in the last decade. Former cultural ambassador Kenny Burrell and leading jazz historian John Hasse, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, discuss the importance of jazz as a diplomatic tool — one that communicates cherished aspects of American society and culture to the larger world.
Many more related programs will be presented this spring.
The Fowler Museum at UCLA is one of the country's most respected institutions devoted to exploring the arts and cultures of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas. The Fowler is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Fowler Museum, part of UCLA Arts, is located in the north part of the UCLA campus. Admission is free. Parking is available for a maximum of $10 in Lot 4.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom
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This story was released on 2011-01-21. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.