Satchmo Blows up the World

Satchmo Blows up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War is a non-fiction work by Penny M. Von Eschen examining the development of jazz music as a result of American politics during the mid-twentieth century. Her work joins an ongoing collection of cold war scholarship that seeks to interrogate the interdependent relationship between culture and politics. In these pages, music is shown to be a powerful force of social influence capable of garnering political power.

In the wake of the era of instability brought on by the abolition of slavery, the civil war, and the civil rights movements, America was weakened in the eyes of the world. Eisenhower’s administration was eager to salvage America’s reputation by disproving the allegations that the country was still socially torn by racial tensions. The US government decided to sponsor and send a number of famous jazz musicians on a worldwide tour. This unexpected ploy served a dual purpose: to demonstrate America’s democratic strength acting as anti-Communist propaganda while disproving the rumors of racism.

The initial idea to send jazz musicians abroad was first suggested on the local level by journalists, musicians, and educators. Eventually, the idea gained traction, and politicians began to promote the idea. Harlem African American Congressman Clayton Powell Jr. brought the idea to the top. Eisenhower and Powell plotted together, an unlikely pair of political allies. Conservatives considered the campaign highly controversial, promoting modernist music and showing support for a race many still were not ready to accept as equals. In general, liberals were widely supportive of the effort, applauding the exportation of American culture in an attempt to bring peace between people. Despite the bittersweet reception, America’s exportation of its culture did not ultimately serve its desired purpose. The jazz tours did much more good for jazz music than it did for America’s global reputation. This, in part, was due to the free-speaking honesty of the jazz musicians.



Von Eschen’s research follows the State Department and the lucky few selected to represent America and jazz during the international music tour and political campaign. Among these were Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington, among others, who used this invaluable opportunity to gain traction, empowerment, and influence for themselves, jazz, and America.

Von Eschen describes a period where Cold War politics were accompanied by a sort of competition to win the hearts and minds of the people. Conover’s radio show, “Voice of America” was broadcast from Tangiers, aiming signals at Scandinavia where it was suspected that a considerable jazz fan base already existed. This endeavor exhibits the American attempt to compete with Europe’s domineering artistic influence over the region. Von Eschen credits the musicians first and foremost for the formation of this show which helped broaden jazz’s exposure overseas.

Von Eschen’s work reveals a number of stories exposing the hearts of the hypocritical politicians and marginalized musicians who played a role in the international introduction of jazz. These individual stories act as a fact-checking force, correcting the historical memory that concentrated on the campaign rather than the social progress and political agency these people garnered for their own race and musical genre. The group performed in more than a dozen third world and developed countries.



Eisenhower approached Louis Armstrong to join the tour, trying to strong-arm Armstrong into agreeing by sending federal troops in an effort to intervene in a desegregation conflict in Arkansas. However, Eisenhower’s personal politics disagreed with the global statement the tour showcased. He was more concerned with the appearance of progress than the policies that would enforce positive and lasting social change. Armstrong was all too aware of this, and despite his sponsored position, openly verbalized his opinion of the political climate, condemning the American government for its legislative complacency. His statements sought to counter the claims that America was now a free and fair country; Armstrong’s outspokenness and his refusal to be censored by the people sponsoring him resonated with many of the oppressed peoples he played for on the jazz tours. He was never allowed to play in the USSR, where officials wanted to prevent popularizing modern, American music. Later, Armstrong wrote an album and toured in Africa, a radical and subversive artistic effort.

While the American efforts to promote jazz overseas ultimately succeed in spreading the somewhat controversial, modern music genre, the jazz musicians did not let their American sponsors censor them. As a result, American politics did not receive the favorable advantage for which the Eisenhower Administration had hoped. In this work, Von Eschen encapsulates an era of evolution, documenting the connection between the internationalization of jazz and the Cold War.