This photographic exhibition chronicles the international tours of legendary jazz musicians who served as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. State Department from the 1950s through the 1970s. Organized by Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C., over 80 images portray music greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, and Sara Vaughn. 

 

Exhibition Sponsors:
Joseph S. Sample in memory of Miriam Sample
Gallagher Western Montana Charitable Foundation

Images: (Top Banner) Benny Goodman performs for a young audience in Red Square. Moscow, Soviet Union, 1962, Courtesy of the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Benny Goodman Papers, Yale University. (Above) Count Basie at the final rehearsal of the popular Burmese song, Emerald Dusk. Rangoon, Burma, 1971, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville. 

 

 

Joseph S. Sample Jazz Collection PARTV Center Lobby

James Todd Jazz Portraits
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library

Henry Meloy Jazz Portraits
First Interstate Bank (Downtown)