Penny M. Von Eschen's historical analysis examines the U.S. State Department's deployment of jazz musicians as cultural ambassadors during the Cold War, from 1956 through the late 1970s. The work details tours by artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington to regions including Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union. It explores the interplay between government objectives and the artists' own agendas in redefining American identity abroad.
Use Cases
- Analyzing cultural diplomacy strategies based on descriptions of State Department jazz tours.
- Studying narratives of race and American identity based on accounts of the black American experience presented abroad.
- Examining artist-government relations based on the described interplay between State Department efforts and progressive artist agendas.
- Researching international cultural collaborations based on mentions of new partnerships with formerly colonized peoples.
Strengths
- Analysis is grounded in a specific historical period from 1956 through the late 1970s.
- Focuses on well-documented tours by prominent jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.
- Examines a defined geopolitical context of Cold War ideological antagonism and U.S. diplomacy.
Limitations
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- Penny M. Von Eschen
- Collection Method
- Historical research and analysis, likely based on archival records, interviews, and primary sources.
- Time Range
- 1956 through the late 1970s
- Freshness
- Last updated is unknown.
- Geography
- Global, with specific mentions of tours to Iraq, India, Congo, Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.