SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT Trailer: Sundance-Winning Documentary Uncovers a Hidden History Between the CIA and Jazz

What did Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and other jazz musicians have to do with the CIA? Director Johan Gimonprez gives a mindblowing, yet jazzy account of the hidden connection between these famous figures and the agency’s plot to assassinate Congo prime minister Patrice Lumumba in the groundbreaking new documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. It premiered at this year’s Sundance where it won a World Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation. Set during the days of the Cold War in the 1960s, it follows the post-colonial relations within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and how U.S. jazz musicians were involved as unwitting pawns in efforts to overthrow the Congolese government. 

In his review from Sundance, Chris Reed wrote “In the new documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, director Johan Grimonprez (Blue Orchids) showcases an egregious application of imperial power that predates [Henry] Kissinger, reminding us how often big countries bully smaller ones. It’s an important, if unpleasant, lesson… He eschews a straightforward political account, bringing in additional elements, as promised by the title, and populating his narrative with scores of jazz musicians… And so Grimonprez—himself Belgian—alternates between the titular soundtrack and the increasingly bloody events on the African continent. Drummer Max Roach and singer Abbey Lincoln perform pieces from their We Insist! Freedom Now suite, the righteousness of their message challenging the machinations of the superpowers. The net result is a piercing condemnation of empire and white supremacy. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat offers many things at once: a masterful history lesson, insightful polemic, and cinematic tour de force. Come for the violent saga, stay for the musical anecdotes. Most of all, marvel at how it is all stitched together.”

Here’s the official synopsis:

United Nations, 1961: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez explores a moment when jazz, colonialism, and espionage collided, constructing a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. The result is a revelatory documentary richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons. Sundance award winner Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story that resonates more than ever in today’s geopolitical climate.

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat opens November 1 at NYC’s Film Forum through Kino Lorber before expanding to select cities. Check out the trailer below.

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