Back in the late 1950's, the U.S. State Department started sending began sending musical groups to Eastern Europe and Russia. It was a new experiment known as "cultural diplomacy." The State Department hoped that by showcasing popular American music around the world, they would introduce audiences to American culture, and win them over as ideological allies in the cold war. One such group that did this was the Dave Brubeck Quartet. They toured Poland, Middle East, parts of Eastern Europe, central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Other tours allowed jazz legends like Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie to trumpet American values in Africa and Asia.
The State Department had first realized jazz's potential as a cold war weapon several years before. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a congressman with close ties to the jazz community, first suggested sending jazz musicians around the world on state-sponsored tours. Gillespie's first tour was a great success, and provided the blueprint for a host of others.
The music of jazz, which was structured around improvisation within a set of commonly agreed-upon boundaries, was a perfect metaphor for America in the eyes of the State Department. Music tours diffused the cold war conflict. The power of music: it brings people together in a special way. That's why Dizzie Gilespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck and others are often called "The Real Ambassadors."
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