Dan Zemelman and Matthew Lewis
Jazz Ambassadors to India & Sri Lanka- 1998
Matthew Lewis (a trumpeter and vocalist from Chicago) and I were one of seven groups chosen through a tape submittal and competitive audition process to be Jazz Ambassadors. Jazz Ambassadors are sponsored by the State Department (then the US Information Agency) and are chosen to tour designated countries, performing live music and giving music workshops and demos throughout the countries.
We were chosen to tour India, Pakistan (which was cancelled due to security reasons) and Sri Lanka in the fall of 1998. There is much to say about this trip and many stories to tell. For now, you can see the flyer that they used to promote us in India. I also attached a link to some press from the trip, the 1998 Jazz Ambassadors archive and part of an archived video of the show:
archived video of show (1st half)
It was an honor to be chosen to do this and it is an experience that I will never forget.
