Cold War

Louis Armstrong was a global ambassador for music and goodwill. During the Cold War, he toured the world under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, performing in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Dave Brubeck led some of the most influential U.S. State Department jazz goodwill tours, bringing his quartet to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

During the Cold War, Duke Ellington became one of America’s most powerful cultural ambassadors. Beginning in the 1960s, Ellington and his orchestra toured Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa as part of U.S. State Department goodwill missions.

In 1956, Dizzy Gillespie led one of the Cold War’s most influential cultural missions — the U.S. State Department’s jazz goodwill tour.

During the Cold War, jazz became a form of cultural exchange. As the United States and the Soviet Union competed for influence, jazz traveled the world as a symbol of creativity, freedom, and individuality.

This week on Who What When, we look at the Cold War era with questions about the geopolitical conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.