In 1962, “King of Swing” Benny Goodman (1909–1986) became the first officially sanctioned jazz musician to play in the Soviet Union when his band performed in six Soviet cities following the signing of the third consecutive two-year cultural exchange agreement between the superpowers. Although Soviet officials had denigrated jazz as decadent, their policy shifted in response to pressure from students and a proclamation from the country’s most popular orchestra leader that “good jazz is art.”