I worked for the US State Department as a Jazz Diplomat

I toured Central Asia with the 5-piece jazz rock band Aberdeen on behalf of the American State Department for three weeks in May. In other words, I was a j a z z diplomat, and it was seriously one of the most amazing and surreal experiences of my life!

The band I was playing bass with was Aberdeen....

We went to Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, two countries I would never have had the opportunity to go to without a program like American Music Abroad. This program is a direct descendant of similar tour that American jazz bands embarked upon during the 1950's and 1960's to promote American cultural interests around the world at the height of the Cold War. It was an incredible honor to be following in the footsteps of luminaries like Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Dizzie Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.

(BTW, the term I used in the beginning of the video, “Jazz Propaganda” should be taken totally tongue-in-cheek as a joke and definitely not literally! We played gigs and conducted educational workshops)

Thanks to Mia, our tour manager over at American Music Abroad, the US embassies in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, the people of Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, and everybody who made this tour possible.

Aberdeen AMA edition was...

Brian Plautz - Sax/bandleader
Jared Yee - Sax
VJ Brown - Guitar
C-Bass Chiriboga - Drums
Me - BASS

American Music Abroad (another shoutout to Mia!)

(⌐■_■)

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Peace,
Adam

[AdamNeely]

Hey guys, an important note! The term I used in the beginning of the video, “Jazz Propaganda” should be taken totally tongue-in-cheek as a joke and definitely not literally! With that in mind I wanted to make sure to say that…

1) Aberdeen was contracted to play gigs and conduct educational workshops. What you saw in the video was exactly what happened - we showed up, played, hung out, met people, rinse and repeat. We were there purely as ourselves as musicians, not as foreign service officers, despite the catchy title of “jazz ambassador.”

We weren’t told what to say, we weren’t told what to play, and we certainly weren’t given an agenda to follow. We were there to play music and hopefully make a real and lasting personal connection with the people we met at played with. Just like any other show, except this time in two countries we would never have had the opportunity to play in otherwise.

Put it this way. Tours cost money, money that’s hard to recoup, and it just didn’t make any financial sense for Aberdeen to tour Central Asia without backing. This tour was only possible because we had the government funding it.

If people have problems with the government funding arts programs…that’s another discussion entirely, but this tour wouldn’t have happened without that funding.

2) The people we played with and met with in both Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia were absolutely amazing, and there are plans for future collaboration and recording.

I now have a profoundly altered view on the value of music as a means of building community, and without this AMA program, the community wouldn’t have a chance to grow.

I’m 100 percent behind public diplomacy arts programs like these. There are few things in the world that I think are purely good, and uniting musicians and people from different cultures is one of them. I was lucky to have done it, and hope to do it again.

[videnteloco]

"it's a lot cheaper to send musicians over the seas than soldiers." That was the phrase.

[evantwo]

"Uptown Funk is the universal language."
~ Adam Neely, 2019

[primalequinox]

I'm so happy that Adam actually made a video about it. The Aberdeens was amazing and they came to our school in Mongolia (Mongolian State Conservatory) and they actually taught jazz stuff. And i still can't believe i played with Adam Neely man <3

edit: 17:25 they're actually my friends and i'm certainly hating myself for not being there at the moment.

also edit: They taught me like how to improvise n stuff and i was like "woahhhh i was thinking that i couldn't learn J A Z Z...but they gave me hope" gosh

[H-_.]

The man formerly known as Adam Neely has changed his name to a piece music notation commonly known as "the lick".

[avi_sncin]

30 seconds into the video and I see a man wearing a Vulfpeck sweater while playing "Careless Whisper" on top of a mountain in Kyrgyzstan, "Yeah, I think I'll keep watching"

[bsrubio]

Sponsored by the US government to play the lick abroad as musical diplomat. Respect.

[datuhhhh]

Adam. I can't believe you missed the opportunity to say "Jambassador". Not even once. I'm not angry; just disappointed.

[Louren]

Leave it to Adam to "sign" a Real Book with the Lick

[danielg.]

Hey Adam,
this is Daniel, we talked briefly today in front of the Bach Monument. Just wanted to express again how much I could relate to your experience in UB. I went in 2017 to see the mongolian nature but was thrilled to find out that the UB Jazz Club had live music and to encounter a great scene with many musicians, jazz, traditional mongolian, rap, you name it. I felt right at home there. Feels good to see that there is an exchange of ideas and feelings.

Thanks for sharing your adventure in central asia with us!

And also thanks to you and Mary for being so kind ;)

[rockstu]

Promoting American music in post-soviet central Asia using music derived from African rhythms played by a band named after a Scottish city in Europe.

I think you got continental bingo

[Halesnaxlors]

Judging by the reaction I bet you signed that dude's real book with the lick

[JirachiFatestar]

Playing Careless Whisper with a Vulfpeck T-shirt on...
The Shitposting of Jazz to Come would eat that alive

[Kibop]

Adam's enthusiasm playing something as basic as Uptown Funk really highlights his love for music and education.

[kasymmoldogaziev]

Wow! Cool! It was nice to meet you and play with you) nice experience) great people! Very interesting to look at it from your point of view)

[Expooo]

footage of adam neely playing illegal "liccs" in kyrgyzstan and mongola (coloured, 2019)

[JaeyoungChong]

ADAM NEEDS A NETFLIX SHOW!
Think about it, going around all over the world and analyzing music and culture from every country! Like Anthony Bourdain but with music!
THINK ABOUT IT.
#getadamneelyonnetflix

[_alicia__]

What language do you speak?

UPTOWN FUNK.

[HawkwardSolo]

9:47 Sax player placing a sneaky licc
Hope you enjoyed your trip! Amazing images

[zivkovicable]

I played similar gigs for the equivalent 'British Council'. Over three years we travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, & Ethiopia. Usually the programme involved workshops in the day, & a gig in the evening. We invariably learn't more at these workshops than we taught.
The US State Department has a long tradition of sending out jazz musicians across the world. My dad saw Ellington, Basie & Armstrong when they toured communist Yugoslavia in the late 1950's. Only a few years before that jazz was discouraged by the authorities there as being decadent. They switched that around to describing it as "the classical music of the African diaspora, suffering under the yoke of the oppressive & discriminatory capitalist system." (I paraphrase)... Following soon after these musical visits the state set up Jazz Big Bands in the Major cities, & put all the players on a living wage. Soon the standard was pretty high producing a few internationally known players by the mid 60's.
The Yugoslav state press used the visits to highlight segregation, pointing out that the African American artists were free to stay in unsegregated hotels during their stay, & eat anywhere they wished.. A freedom not open to them in much of their home country at the time. So the propaganda worked both ways.