Saturday, January 28, 1961: Louis Armstrong in Egypt

With his wife, Lucille, listening, jazz great Louis Armstrong plays the trumpet near the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. (Click on photo for a closer look.) Armstrong was on a tour of the Middle East and Africa, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which sent a series of "jazz ambassadors" abroad to showcase America's image and to forge better relations with Eastern European and developing countries.

* "Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World" (traveling exhibit): @

* "Jam Session" story and photos (from NPR): @

* Story and photos (from New York Times): @

* Story and video (from Voice of America): @

* "Satchmo Blows Up the World" (book by Penny M. Von Eschen): @

* "Jazz Diplomacy" (book by Lisa E. Davenport): @

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