Soundtrack to a Coup d’État
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when […]
Soundtrack to a Coup d’État
From the Congo to Harlem and back again, Johan Grimonprez’s dynamic and urgent documentary explores the politics of decolonization through the lens of jazz. It features impressive archival clips, historical context presented via Blue Note album covers, and musical performances by jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone, who served as […]
