Cultural dipolomacy became a new tool in the U.S.A. foreign policy bag in the first half of 1950’s. In 1954, President Eisenhower established an Emergency Fund for International Affairs, from which also cultural presentations abroad could be funded. In 1956, The International Cultural and Trade Fair Act established a more permanent mechanism to support cultural diplomacy.
Dizzy Gillespie was the first jazz muscian to do a State Department sponsored tour. It took place in March 1956 when he went on a ten week tour with a racially mixed 18 man band, which played cross Europe, Asia and South America including Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Greece and Argentina.
He was followed by Benny Goodman, who, in December 1957, started a seven week tour of East and Southeast Asia.
In 1958, Dave Brubeck made a State Department sponsored tour with his quartet of East Gemany, Poland, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. He also performed in Iran and Iraq. Only a few weeks after Brubeck had departed, the Iraqi king was overthrown in a coup d’etat. That was the first example of the difficult environments in which the cultural tours had to take place.
After these tours, there was Louis Armstrong‘s tour to Africa in 1960-1961. He went to an Africa being liberated and getting independance. When one reads about the tour, it seems that it was a kind of homecoming tour, where Satchmo got an enthusiastcwelcome.
Then, the Music Panel of the Advisory Committee on the Arts selected Duke Ellington with his Orchestra to come next for a State Departement tour. It would be to the Middle and Far East and take place in 1963.
The contract for the tour is dated 17 June 1963 and is for a 14 week tour from 6 Sep. to 16 Dec. 1963.
It had three parts. The first part was Middle East and Central Asia, the second part Far East and the third one was Middle East again. The tour was cancelled when Ellington and the orchestra had reached Damascus because of the assination of President Kennedy.
Here is a map of the back and forth of the tour.
Source: to be added
Ellington, the band and other entourage left New York on 6 Sep, 1963 to go to Damascus via Rome and Ankara. They arrived in Damascus late in the evening on 7 Sep, 1963 and checked in at their hotel just before midnight.
The next day – a Sunday – was basically a day of social activities but Ellington became slighly ill as he would be also later in the tour and Ray Nanced refused to take part in any of the activities the first day.
On Monday 9 Ellington started the day with giving an interview to Voice of America and signing autographs together with members of the band at the library of the U.S. Information Service in Damascus.
In the evening, it was time for the first concert, which was part of the program for the Damascus Fair. It started at 09:30 PM and some 1.700 people attended. They got good value for money since the concert lasted almost one hour and half like many others in the 1963 tours.
Because of the length, the website will provide it in two parts. Here is the first part. The second will follow in a couple of days.
It starts with Take The “A” Train followed by Afro-Bossa, The Eight Veil, Rockin’ In Rhythm, Silk Lace, Lullaby Of Birdland, Black And Tan Fantasy/Creole Love Call/The Mooche and Skin Deep.
Afro-Bossa was a new composition added to the book that year, with many possibilities by the saxophone section to show off. Ray Nance, soon to be sent home from the tour is also heard. The Eighth Veil is of cource a a showcase for Cat Anderson and in Rockin’ In Rhythm we hear Ray Nance soloing together with Cootie Williams. Lullaby Of Birdland was originally intended for Clark Terry but here it is Rolf Ericson’s flugelhorn we hear. Part one ends with a long drum solo by Sam Woodyard in Skin Deep, of cource written by another Ellington drummer named Louie Bellson.
The first part of the concert is available in the Goodies Room.
Source: The Duke Where and When (http://tdwaw.ellingtonweb.ca)
Author: Ulf Lundin
Cncert and music comments: Anders Asplund
Apparently the transfer is about a semitone too high / sharp. Duke’s voice already sounds weird, and cross-comparing with other recordings the suspicion is confirmed.
I suspected that this was the case and there are some others. I don’t have a good equipment to make the corrections. It is a general problem with the tapes from the Benny Aaslund and similar collections. I need some help to handle this. Can you send me an email so we can discuss this more easily. Use my address ulflundin34@outlook.com