ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the discursive frictions of the 1960s over the strategic value of jazz, which arose between State Department officials on the one hand, and jazz musicians and music critics on the other – all of whom were engaged in the jazz ambassador selection process. African tours by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and Randy Weston were expected to strengthen cultural ties between America and Africa, though the represented “America” was socially problematic. Whereas Ornette Coleman was highly regarded by critics tasked with selecting America’s jazz ambassadors, State Department officials were expressing concern by the late 1960s about the unforeseen consequences of sending an ambassador abroad that might be too provocative. The gap in interpreting the external value of jazz among government officials, musicians and critics foregrounded the politics as to who should represent America during the era of decolonization and the American civil rights movement.
