Solution: Cold War-era group that included Louis Armstrong - NYT Crossword

Of course this group is making its puzzle debut, and it’s a fabulous seed entry. Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and other musical luminaries were recruited by the State Department in 1956 as JAZZ AMBASSADORS, charged with propagandizing on America’s behalf during the Cold War. This effort was complicated by the violence against African Americans during the concurrent civil rights movement; Dave Brubeck, another participant, wrote a musical about the cognitive dissonance between domestic segregation and the international appearance of unity.