During the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies, and Premier Joseph Stalin unlocked Soviet borders to an influx of American film, music, print resources, and tourists. This American culture, especially the scores of Jazz records and recordings, grew incredibly popular. Jazz orchestras sprung up across Moscow and the Soviet bloc, and these groups longed for the opportunity to play American scores in their own styles. Music became a common vehicle conveying the culture of the West within the USSR. Following the war, however, Stalin and his Generals became apprehensive about the damaging effect that substantial exposure to Western culture could have on the Party and on the Communist ideology. Soon thereafter, the Kremlin “launched a campaign to purge the USSR of foreign influence.” Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, American jazz, along with Western writers, art, and films were the focus of innumerable propaganda campaigns.
As Adam Makowicz, a famed Polish jazz pianist, remembers about growing up in this era, “Suppression of jazz largely failed because…we were hooked! The music, open to improvisation coming from a free country, was our hour of freedom; it was our hope and joy which helped us to survive the dark days of censorship and other oppression.”
It was not coincidence that launched Jazz into such a prominent position among the Russian conscience, but the design of the same State Department that brought cultural exchanges and exhibitions to the Soviet bloc. Ambassador William Harriman had argued from the start of the drafting of US Foreign Policy toward the USSR, that radio was the only surefire way to reach and influence a population that had been so isolated by geography, illiteracy, party pr...
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... Blows Up the World,” (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004), 99.
Yale Richmond, “Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey,” (New York, NY: Berghahn Books, 2008), 93.
Sergei Zhuk, Rock and Roll in the Rocket City: The West, Identity, and Ideology in Soviet Dniepropetrovsk, 1960-1985, (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), 95.
Alan Heil, “Voice of America: A History,” (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2003), 290.
Von Eschen, “Satchmo Blows Up the World,” 120.
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Lisa Davenport, Jazz Diplomacy: Promoting America in the Cold War Era, (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2009) http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzMwMjkwNl9fQU41?sid=588df720-10b8-4aa8-9b97 61b6974cc660@sessionmgr4004&vid=1&format=EB&lpid=lp_145&rid=0 (accessed April 1, 2014), 123.
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Gaddis, John Lewis. We Now Know: Rethinking the Cold War: Dividing the World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1997. Publishing.
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
Offner, Arnold. “‘Another Such Victory’: President Truman, American Foreign Policy, and the Cold War.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 291-301.
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
Johnson, Priscilla and Leopold Labdez (eds.). Khrushchev and the Arts: the politics of Soviet Culture, 1962-64. MIT Press, 1965.
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Jazz culture to be exact, is the topic at hand. Jazz culture expands throughout many genres and is expressed in many ways. The many genres of jazz are Big Band, jazz funk, modern jazz, smooth jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion. Each of these comes with its own unique sound and origin. Latin jazz, for example, employs rhythms from both African and Hispanic backgrounds. The sound is particularly up tempo with divided eight beat patterns. Jazz artists who have portrayed these qualities of jazz to the world are at the very core of its culture. Many people who are in places of power in this society or are held in some form of esteem have had some exposure to the arts, whether it is classical or jazz. This is due to a desire to be culturally diverse which is a quality held in high esteem in regards to a more worldly point-of-view. There are many aspects of Jazz music that could be approached, but there is one point in particular that must be expressed in detail. The influence on the genre ...
George Browm Tindall, David Emory Shi. American History: 5th Brief edition, W. W. Norton & Company; November 1999
By the end of World War I, Black Americans were facing their lowest point in history since slavery. Most of the blacks migrated to the northern states such as New York and Chicago. It was in New York where the “Harlem Renaissance” was born. This movement with jazz was used to rid of the restraints held against African Americans. One of the main reasons that jazz was so popular was that it allowed the performer to create the rhythm. With This in Mind performers realized that there could no...
Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt that they deserved to have some fun in order to forget the emotional toll and social scars left from the war. The Jazz Age was appropriately named due to the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new style of music that originated out of the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time – Louis Armstrong – began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional, rigid family of the 1920s. Young people in particular seemed to enjoy this new music the most, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the era’s trans...
George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, America: A Narrative History, Ninth Edition, Volume One, (New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), 504.
...frican American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2002. 54-100. EBSCOhost. Web. 8 May 2015.
Influence of Jazz on American Culture Nowadays, many believe that jazz is not that important in the music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world,” quoted Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles. Jazz began affecting American culture from the beginning of its conception.