The Adam Mickiewicz Institute—the cultural diplomacy arm of the Polish government—regularly posts interesting articles and artist profiles on its website, culture.pl. Recently, an interesting article entitled “Willis Conover: The American Godfather of Polish Jazz” about the influential American radio host was published.
Below is an excerpt:
“Willis Conover, host of the Voice of America’s ‘Jazz Hour’ radio show, raised the most important generation of Polish jazz musicians – and then introduced them to the world…. From January 1955, through transmitters located in Munich and Tangier, he smuggled jazz behind the Iron Curtain on a daily basis. For a whole generation of music aficionados and future musicians living there, he was more than an entertainer. He was a teacher – a true apostle of jazz.”
Read the full article at culture.pl.
[Source: press release]