Jazz Ambassadors: Jazz Exploration Workshop Series with Dr Kelsey Klotz

Mondays 6:30 - 8:00pm, Apr 4-25

“Who’s the Real Ambassador?” So sang Louis Armstrong, in a performance of Dave Brubeck’s composition, The Real Ambassador (1961). Is it the political diplomat, sent overseas to ease political tensions? Or is it the cultural ambassador, sent overseas to perform and win the hearts of dignitaries and the public? This four week class focuses on jazz ambassadors, beginning with Cold War ambassadors Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, and Benny Goodman.

Part of a series of virtual workshops taught by Dr. Kelsey Klotz, this month, during Jazz Appreciation Month, we explore what made a useful representative of American democracy.

Dr. Kelsey Klotz is a lecturer in UNC Charlotte’s Department of Music. In 2016, with a PhD in musicology. As an educator, Dr. Klotz teaches critical listening as a method for musical analysis and encountering perspectives different from one’s own. Her approach to the confluence of music and history offers a deep dive into the focal topic, relating that to influences of and to the societal environment of the time, and implications to today.

Special Thanks to our program sponsors: Infusion Fund , North Carolina Arts Council, Knight Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Charlotte Woman’s Club, and Akers Foundation