Jazz and Fascism: Contradictions and Ambivalences in the Diffusion of Jazz Music under the Italian Fascist Dictatorship (1925–1935)

Recently, historians have begun to consider jazz music not only as a historical source in contemporary Italian history, but also as a peculiar ‘agent’ that is able to influence evolving socio-political processes. The relationship between jazz music and the Fascist radio broadcasting of EIAR (Ente Italiano Audizioni Radiofoniche) is emblematic of the contradictions and ambivalences of the political use of African-American music by the Fascist dictatorship. According to Adriano Mazzoletti (2004) and Luca Cerchiari (2003), there were three main phrases in the relationship between jazz and Fascism: ‘indifference’ (1919-1925), ‘diffusion’ (1925-1935) and ‘prohibition’ (1935-1943). This chapter will focus on the so-called ‘diffusion’ period, when Mussolini gradually recognized the importance of radio broadcasting for the construction of a totalitarian state.