University of the Pacific Professor Emeritus Keith Hatschek will discuss his new book, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation. This in-person program is free to attend and no registration is required. Copies of Hatschek’s book will be available for sale and signing.

Hatschek’s book explores the story of three determined artists and the stand they took against segregation by writing and performing a jazz musical titled The Real Ambassadors. First conceived by Dave and Iola Brubeck in 1956, the musical’s journey to the stage for its 1962 premiere tracks extraordinary twists and turns across the backdrop of the civil rights movement. A variety of colorful characters, from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected managers, surface in the riveting storyline. (Pictured above, Dave Brubeck with MJF co-founder, Jimmy Lyons.)

University of the Pacific Professor Emeritus Keith Hatschek will discuss his new book, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation. This in-person program is free to attend and no registration is required. Copies of Hatschek’s book will be available for sale and signing.

Hatschek’s book explores the story of three determined artists and the stand they took against segregation by writing and performing a jazz musical titled The Real Ambassadors. First conceived by Dave and Iola Brubeck in 1956, the musical’s journey to the stage for its 1962 premiere tracks extraordinary twists and turns across the backdrop of the civil rights movement. A variety of colorful characters, from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected managers, surface in the riveting storyline.

University of the Pacific Professor Emeritus Keith Hatschek will discuss his new book, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation. This in-person program is free to attend and no registration is required. Copies of Hatschek’s book will be available for sale and signing.

Hatschek’s book explores the story of three determined artists and the stand they took against segregation by writing and performing a jazz musical titled The Real Ambassadors. First conceived by Dave and Iola Brubeck in 1956, the musical’s journey to the stage for its 1962 premiere tracks extraordinary twists and turns across the backdrop of the civil rights movement. A variety of colorful characters, from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected managers, surface in the riveting storyline.

I'll be in New Orleans early next month sharing the story behind my new book on Dave and Iola Brubeck's jazz musical, The Real Ambassadors, at the legendary Satchmo Summerfest. It's happening at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Mint, on August 6/7 and features a wide variety of performers on two stages, culinary delights prepared by NOLA's finest chefs, and Satchmo-related talks by leading experts on his life and music. After my talk on Saturday at 2 PM, my good friend, Ricky Riccardi, Archivist at Louis Armstrong House Museum, and I are going to host a 3 PM "Real Ambassadors" flavored playback party featuring audio rarities of the Brubecks and Armstrong's collaborations. Audiences will leave with a smile on their face and a spring in their step due to "Ol' Sachmo magic" on these historic audio clips. I hope you can make it or share news of this gig with your networks so we have a great turnout! #satchmosummerfest #therealambassadors #rickyriccardi #NOLAfood #louisarmstrong #satchmo

Join author Keith Hatschek and jazz artist/entrepreneur Simon Rowe for a conversation about Keith’s new book, “The Real Ambassadors,” covering Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong’s five-year struggle to stage the eponymous jazz musical that challenged segregation at the height of the civil rights movement.

Join us for an author event and book signing at one of the leading independent bookstores in Northern California. We’ll also celebrate May 4th, which is unofficially regarded as “Dave Brubeck Day” worldwide, as a nod to the song, “Take Five,” which propelled Dave’s group to the top of the charts in the early 1960s. At the same time “Take Five” was being hummed by music lovers around the world, Dave and Iola Brubeck would team up with Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong to create and perform a unique jazz musical dubbed The Real Ambassadors, which challenged the inequalities of racism and Jim Crow head on during the volatile civil rights struggles in America. [Photo: The cast of Dave and Iola Brubecks’ The Real Ambassadors pictured in September 1962 at a rehearsal in San Francisco, CA.]

The University of Pacific Library welcomes author and Professor Emeritus Keith Hatschek back to campus for a conversation about his research into Dave and Iola Brubeck’s ground-breaking jazz musical, The Real Ambassadors. His new book telling the story of the Brubecks’ five-year struggle to bring the musical to the stage demonstrates how artists can use their voices to stand up to inequality and take a stand for human rights. Bay Area artist, Gina Musser, will also exhibit an original wire-frame artwork of Iola Brubeck as she performed as narrator in the show’s triumphant 1962 premiere at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

On September 23, 1962, Dave and Iola Brubeck premiered their jazz musical, The Real Ambassadors, to an SRO crowd at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Starring Louis Armstrong, the show’s debut moved the audience to laughter, tears, and joy. Although critics unanimously praised the performance, it sadly became a footnote in cast members’ bios. Professor Keith Hatschek will tell the story of the Brubecks’ five-year struggle to bring their musical, which challenged the status quo of racist Jim Crow practices, to the stage. A variety of characters from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected mangers, surface in the telling of this engaging tale. A 2014 revival of the show by Jazz at Lincoln Center reaffirmed The Real Ambassadors place as an integral part of America’s musical history and an important reminder of how artists’ voices can be a powerful force for social change.