Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World

Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the WorldJam Session—Meridian’s most popular exhibition to date—chronicled the international tours of legendary jazz musicians who were selected by the U.S. State Department to serve as roving cultural “ambassadors” from the 1950s through the 1970s. More than 100 compelling images portrayed the journeys of music greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, and Sarah Vaughan. These musicians toured regions including the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East and North Africa playing their world-famous music and interacted with people abroad to promote a positive view of the United States when Cold War tensions were at their height.

This exhibition was curated by Dr. Curtis Sandberg, former Meridian Vice President for the Arts, and Professor 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. Major sponsorship was provided by Anheuser-Busch Foundation, Verizon Wireless, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sonnenreich, Ms. Meryl Chertoff, and Mr. Raymond Garcia, and Dr. Fruzsina M. Harsanyi.

Visit Jam Session Website

Project Timeline

May 4, 2018Celebrating Jazz Ambassadors with the U.S. Diplomacy Center
September 26, 2013Meridian’s American-Turkish Jazz Exchange to participate in the 11th Annual Turkish Festival
May 9, 2013Meridian Joins The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai to Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month
May 6, 2013Meridian at UNESCO International Jazz Day
May 9, 2012Meridian and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing Open Jazz Photo Exhibit in China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts
May 4, 2010YouTube: New Exhibit Celebrates Jazz Ambassadors
March 25, 2010YouTube: Jam Session opens at gala in Tel Aviv, Israel

Project summary

Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World | August 2008
Regions: Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Near East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, Western Hemisphere
Countries: Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Guinea, Taiwan, Burma, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong SAR China, China, Macau SAR China, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, France, Spain, Russia, Denmark, Bahrain, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Uruguay, Guatemala, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Honduras, United States
Impact Areas: Cultural Diplomacy
Program Areas: Culture
Partners: Diplomatic Corps, Private Sector, Public Sector, Individuals/Donors
  See Program Page