Introduction by Benny Goodman's only student, Ukrainian-born clarinetist Julian Milkis, and Q&A with the film's Director and Producer, Olga and Gregory Antimony.
Trojan Jazz features new interviews with Americans who were on the tour or made it possible (such as legendary jazz producer George Avakian and bassist Bill Crow) as well as a wide range of Russian and Ukrainian musicians and cultural figures whose lives were transformed by the tour. It also includes rare archival footage of Benny in the USSR.

Supported by the State Department's US Information Agency, this 5 week, 6 city tour was the first appearance by an American jazz group. in the USSR, and occurred at an extremely sensitive time - between the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It helped kick off a wave of bi-directional cultural exchanges betwee the US and USSR that featured ballet, classical and jazz performers from both sides of the Iron Curtain. For Soviet citizens alive in 1962, the tour was not only an opportunity to hear live jazz performance (which was frowned upon by the Soviet authorities), but also a unique chance to see and meet the real Americans.
This event is FREE. However, pre-registration is required.