Willis Conover: Broadcasting Jazz To The World - Softcover

Ripmaster, Terry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0595407412 ISBN 13: 9780595407415

Publisher: iUniverse, 2007

Synopsis

Willis Clark Conover Jr. was born on December 18, 1920. Known around the world for his Voice of America radio programs, he also traveled the world as a jazz ambassador. Willis Conover: Broadcasting Jazz To The World recounts the story of his talented life.In America, Conover helped break down racial barriers related to jazz, participating in the famous Newport Jazz Festivals as well as serving on the National Endowment for the Arts to gain funding for jazz events. As a personal friend of Duke Ellington and many other jazz greats, Conover promoted their music over radio stations and at White House jazz concerts. His tenure at Voice of America lasted from 1955 until his death in 1996. Unfortunately, because of Congressional restrictions, his programs were not heard in the United States. The Voice of America, an arm of the Office of War Information, was a federal agency banned from broadcasting in America.Many of the world's best jazz musicians credit Conover with helping them learn more about jazz. This biography details his professional accomplishments in the world of jazz, including the profound impact he had on the Soviet Union and Eastern European Communist nations.

About this title

About the Author

Terence M. Ripmaster is a retired professor of history, William Paterson University, former president of the New Jersey Jazz Society, a member of the International Association for Jazz Education, and a member of the Jazz Journalist Association. He lives in Sarasota, Florida.

Edition details

• Publisher: iUniverse
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0595407412
• ISBN 13: 9780595407415
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240