Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

A propulsive jazz soundtrack drives this thrilling history lesson on the dark machinations of colonialism and the US-led coup in the Congo during the 1960s.

Using archival footage and driven by the improvisational rhythms of jazz, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat unpacks in alarming detail the collusion between the US Government, the Belgian monarchy and various corporate conglomerates to assassinate Congo's premier prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. This insidious plan was orchestrated in part by inviting jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone to the Congo in order to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Illuminated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos and thought-to-be-lost footage of Lumumba, this essay film is an urgent and timely history lesson that resonates even more so today.

Curator's note
Director Johan Grimonprez brilliantly weaves in and out of this complex historical moment, utilising the cadence of jazz to link the intersecting timelines and main players. Executed with maximum impact, Grimonprez jarringly jump-cuts to contemporary inserts of iPhone and Tesla ads, pointing to what was ultimately the prize for the corporations that continue to exploit the Congo for its natural resources. The deployment of Nina Simone and Louis Armstrong as unwitting Trojan horses is defiantly counterpointed by the actions of jazz artists Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach. These musicians drew inspiration from the burgeoning independence movement in Africa. In response they created the legendary album We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite. A stirring work whose power soars above the ruins.