BEHIND THE LENS | The story behind the image
Jazz ambassadors at Museum of History
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October
Louis Armstrong plays his trumpet in a halo of smoke on October 31, 1957. Times photo by Bob Moreland
Text from the International Council of the Tampa Bay Region.
From October 12 – November 21, 2010, The International Council of the Tampa Bay Region presents “Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World!”, an historic photographic chronicle of the days when the US Department of State sent America's "Jazz Ambassadors" - among them, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie - on a series of overseas "cultural exchange tours" from the 1950s - 1970s. The exhibit will be shown at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, with related music and jazz history events around the area.
"Cultural Diplomacy" – employing the arts to further international and inter-cultural understanding – has often helped the United States share its message abroad, sometimes at critical moments in American foreign policy. During the Cold War 1950s – 1970s, America’s cultural ambassadors were the great jazz musicians of all time. They took “America’s classical music” to millions of listeners in Eastern Europe, East Asia, Africa and Latin America.
"Jam Session" is a collection of nearly 100 photos and posters from the global journeys of these jazz greats. The exhibit has travelled around the world under the auspices of Meridian International Center, and is currently featured at the Shanghai World Expo in China.
In fact, many of these "Jazz Ambassadors" played around the Tampa Bay area, and especially here in St. Petersburg at the historic Manhattan Casino and the Royal Theater. As part of the “Jam Session” global experience, two very special exhibits will also be on display at the Museum. One will celebrate the “History of Jazz in St. Petersburg”, which will explore the rich and diverse heritage of jazz in our city. Another special exhibit will feature the historic jazz photography of photojournalist and author Herb Snitzer, an internationally known photographer who lives in St. Petersburg.
