Summer 1962. The height of the Cold War. The first American jazz orchestra, led by Benny Goodman, embarks on a tour of the USSR — an event that took place between the Berlin and Cuban crises. For Soviet citizens, this was a unique opportunity not only to hear live jazz but also to see real Americans — free, relaxed, and completely different from people living in the USSR.
Benny Goodman and his orchestra performed in six cities: Moscow, Leningrad, Tbilisi, Sochi, Kyiv, and Tashkent. During the tour, 32 concerts were held, attended by about 200,000 people. Many compared their impressions of these concerts to Gagarin's space flight. One of the film's characters noted that if Lenin had emerged from the Mausoleum, it would have caused less of a shock than Benny Goodman's appearance on Red Square.
Jazz as a musical genre was almost banned in the Soviet Union, considered ideologically dangerous. The film tells the story of a legendary late-night jam session at Leningrad State University, where Soviet and American musicians played jazz together. In a country where communication with foreigners culd lead to serious consequences, these people took risks for the sake of art. Soviet musicians secretly shared the sheet music of their compositions with the Americans, who later released the world's first album of Soviet jazz.
Jazz became a symbol of freedom in a totalitarian country, awakening a spirit of independence in those who lived under the weight of Soviet ideology. Composer Gia Kancheli, one of the film's characters, notes, “It all began with swing. Later, dissidents, defectors, and anti-Soviet activists emerged. The foundations of the totalitarian regime began to crumble precisely when swing arrived in the Soviet Union.”
One of the film’s most dramatic episodes is the story of Ukrainian flutist Grigory Fedkin, to whom Benny Goodman gifted a flute. The next morning, the chairman of the Broadcasting and Television Committee demanded that the instrument be handed over to the state, claiming it was intended for the entire orchestra. Despite threats, Fedkin refused and was soon dismissed from the orchestra. He was forced to leave his musical career and make a living by repairing instruments and playing at funerals. He lived in a small town near Kyiv, Irpin, where, in the spring of 2022, war would arrive...
The film features prominent figures such as musician Bill Crow, author of the book about the tour "To Russia Without Love"; composer Gia Kancheli; Nikita Khrushchev’s son, Sergei; journalist Vladimir Pozner; musicians Seva Novgorodsev and Gennady Golshtein; tour producer George Avakian; and the son of the orchestra's trumpeter Jimmy Maxwell — David, for whom this trip was life-changing. He later became a renowned Slavic studies scholar and professor of Russian language and literature in the United States.
The film also draws parallels with modern times, showing Russia, where musicians, performing in the garden of a retirement home for retired actors, learn that part of their park has been taken by individuals connected to the KGB. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a large banner hangs on Maidan Square with the words, "Freedom is our religion." And today’s war between Ukraine and Russia is not just a struggle over territory or political interests. It is a war between Russia’s revival of a totalitarian past and a future where Ukraine defends not only its independence but also a core value system centered on human dignity and freedom. Unique footage of pre-war Irpin, destroyed by Russian forces in the spring of 2022, with the figure of a flutist on the central square, serves as a poignant reminder of Ukraine’s ongoing struggle for freedom and independence.