Jazz Appreciation Month

April 19, 2018

To celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month this April, the U.S. Department of State is hosting a panel discussion, jazz performance and cultural diplomacy exhibit at the U.S. Diplomacy Center. On April 20, a State Department representative and special guests will discuss the role of jazz diplomacy during the Cold War and the continuing role of cultural diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy. Panelists include:

  • Dr. Penny Von Eschen, Professor of Humanities and History from Cornell University and author of Satchmo Blows Up the World:  Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War
  • Jay Raman, Director of the Cultural Programs Division in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
  • Kenny Wesley, songwriter, pianist, vocalist, and alumnus of American Music Abroad

A jazz performance by middle and high school students from the Foundation for the Advancement of Music and Education (FAME) will follow the panel. RSVP to the panel and performance here.

Guests can also return to the U.S. Diplomacy Center through June to view Meridian International Center’s temporary photography exhibit, Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World. The exhibit chronicles the international tours of legendary jazz musicians who were selected by the State Department to serve as roving cultural ambassadors from the 1950s-1970s, including Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Dave Brubeck. These musicians interacted with foreign audiences to promote a positive view of the United States during the height of Cold War tensions.