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John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21 1917 – January 6 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was an African-American, Bahá'à jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
In addition to featuring in these epochal moments in jazz, he was instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban jazz, the modern jazz version of the "Spanish Tinge". Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. In addition to his instrumental skills, Dizzy's beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn and pouched cheeks, and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop, which was originally regarded as threatening and frightening music by many listeners raised on older styles of jazz. He had an enormous impact on virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of his playing and as a mentor to younger musicians.
He also used a trumpet whose bell was bent at a 45 degree angle rather than a traditional straight trumpet. This was originally the result of accidental damage, but the constriction caused by the bending altered the tone of the instrument, and Gillespie liked the effect.
Biography
Early life and career
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was the youngest of ten children, and he taught himself to play the trumpet at the age of 12. His father, who beat his children regularly, died when Gillespie was ten. He managed to win a scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. However, he dropped out of school in 1935, moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became desperate to work as a full-time musician. Gillespie first joined Frankie Fairfax, and made his recording debut filling for Roy Eldridge in Teddy Hill's band.
After finding work with Cab Calloway's group, Dizzy was soon being excoriated for his adventurous solos by his employer, who branded it "Chinese music." He lost the spot in Calloway's band for an unrelated reason, however: Calloway accused Gillespie of firing a spitball at him during a concert, and the hot-headed Gillespie stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife. Gillespie went through many bands including Duke Ellington's, and also arranged music for Woody Herman.
The legendary big band of Billy Eckstine gave his unusual harmonies a better setting, and it was as a member of Eckstine's band that he was reunited with Parker, after earlier being members of Earl Hines's more conventional band.
The rise of bebop
With Charlie Parker, Gillespie jammed at famous jazz clubs like Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House, where the first seeds of bebop were planted. Gillespie's compositions like "Groovin' High", "Woody n' You", "Anthropology", and "A Night in Tunisia" sounded radically different, harmonically and rhythmically, than the Swing music popular at the time. One of their first (and greatest) small-group performances together was only issued in 2005: a concert in New York's Town Hall on June 22, 1945. Gillespie taught many of the young musicians on 52nd Street, like Miles Davis and Max Roach, about the new style of jazz. After a lengthy gig at Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles, though, which left most of those in the audience ambivalent or hostile towards the new music, the band broke up. Unlike Parker, who was content to play in small groups and be an occasional featured soloist in big bands, Gillespie aimed to lead a big band himself; his first attempt to do this came in 1945, but it did not prove a success.
In 1964 the artist even put himself forward as a presidential candidate. He promised that if he were elected, the White House would be renamed "The Blues House," Ray Charles would be appointed Librarian of Congress, and Miles Davis would become the head of the CIA.
After his work with Parker, Gillespie led other small combos (including ones with Milt Jackson, John Coltrane, Lalo Schifrin) and finally put together his first successful big band. He also appeared frequently as a soloist with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic.
On March 11, 1952 Gillespie left for France after being invited by Charles Delaunay to play on Salon du Jazz. Tercinet, Alain, Booklet of The Great Blue Star Sessions 1952-1953 Gillespie did not have any other commitments during his time in Paris and therefore embarked on his Blue Star sessions and started to assemble his third big band. Due to his prior success he could now record in the finest studios like Théatre des Champs-Elysées. In 1953 he returned to the United States after a series of successful concerts and recordings, but most importantly he proved himself to be a successful bandleader. In 1956, Gillespie led the State Department Band on a tour around the world.
Afro-Cuban music
In the late 1940s, Gillespie was also involved in the movement called Afro-Cuban music, bringing Latin and African elements to greater prominence in jazz and even pop music, particularly salsa. Gillespie's most famous contributions to Afro-Cuban music are the compositions "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo"; he was responsible for commissioning George Russell's "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop", which featured the great but ill-fated Cuban congo player, Chano Pozo. In 1977, Gillespie discovered Arturo Sandoval while researching music during a tour of Cuba.
Later Years and Death
Unlike his contemporary Miles Davis, Gillespie essentially remained true to the bebop style for the rest of his career. Gillespie published his autobiography, To Be or not to Bop in 1979. In the 1980s, Dizzy Gillespie led the United Nations Orchestra, and had a guest appearance on The Cosby Show as well as Sesame Street.
In 1982, Dizzy Gillespie had a cameo on Stevie Wonder's hit Do I Do. Gillespie's tone gradually faded in the last years in life, and his performances often focused more on his proteges such as Arturo Sandoval and Jon Faddis; his good-humoured comedic routines became more and more a part of his live act.
He died of pancreatic cancer in 1993, aged 75, and was buried in the Flushing Cemetery, Queens, New York
At the time of his death, Dizzy was survived by his widow, Lorraine Willis Gillespie, a daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson, and a grandson, Radji Birks Bryson-Barrett.
Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most famous adherents of the Bahá'à Faith to the point that he is often called the Bahá'à Jazz Ambassador. He is honored with weekly jazz sessions at the New York Bahá'à Center.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood secton of the City of Los Angeles.
Discography
- 1952 â?? Dizzy Gillespie. Dee Gee Days - The Savoy Sessions
- 1953 â?? Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Bud Powell â?? At Massey Hall May 15, 1953
- 1985 â?? Dizzy Gillespie, Robert Ameen, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Lonnie Plaxido â?? New Faces
- 1989 â?? Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation Orchestra â?? Live at the Royal Festival Hall London July 10, 1989
- 2000 â?? Dizzy Gillespie â?? Ken Burns Jazz
References
Samples
External links
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