Those who built ‘socialism with jazz face’ : Soviet jazz fandom in 1960s and Latvian jazz fan Leonid Nidbalsky

Abstract

This article uncovers the underlying social and cultural basis for the appearance of Soviet jazz fandom in the late 1950s. It shows how this phenomenon grew out of the šestidesâtniki (shestidesyatniki) movement, who the individuals were that were a part of it and uncovers the ideological platform underlying their activism. The second part introduces the role of American jazz broadcaster Willis Conover as a mediator between Soviet jazz fans and how jazz obtained the status of celebrity worshipped by thousands of devotees. Finally, Latvian jazz fan Leonid Nidbalsky is selected to elucidate the life in jazz of a person with great prominence in the developing jazz culture in the country.