 | Dizzy Gillespie: Encyclopedia II - Dizzy Gillespie - Biography
Dizzy Gillespie - Biography
Dizzy Gillespie - Early Life and Career
John Birks Gillespie was the youngest of nine children, and he taught himself to play the trumpet at the age of 12. Despite the poverty he grew up in, he managed to win a scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. However, he soon dropped out of school, and became desperate to work as a full-time musician. Despite 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 was fired as a result of Calloway's dissatisfaction with Gillespie's modern, unorthodox approach. 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 more conventional band.
Dizzy Gillespie - 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 (now available on Uptown Records). 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. Gillespie, later that year in 1945, led an unpopular big band.
Ironically, within a few years, bebop would be considered the mainstream form of jazz.
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. In 1956, Gillespie led the State Department Band on a tour around the world.
Dizzy Gillespie - Afro-Cuban Music
In the 40s, 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", "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop", and the Cuban congo player, Chano Pozo. In 1977, Gillespie discovered Arturo Sandoval while researching music during a tour of Cuba.
Dizzy Gillespie - Last Years
Gillespie published his autobiography, To Be or not to Bop in 1979, ISBN 0306802368. In the 1980s, Dizzy Gillespie led the United Nations Orchestra, and had a guest appearance on Sesame Street. 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, and began incorporating various comedic routines. He died of cancer in early 1993 and is buried in the Flushing Cemetery in Queens, New York. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most famous adherents of the Bahá'í Faith to the point that he is often called the Bahá'í Jazz Ambassador. He is honored with weekly jazz sessions at the New York Bahá'í Center. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard.
Other related archives1917, 1917 births, 1979, 1980s, 1993, 1993 deaths, 40s, African American musicians, African-American, Afro-Cuban jazz, Afro-Cuban music, American jazz musicians, Arturo Sandoval, Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'í individuals, Bebop musicians, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Charlie Parker, Cheraw, South Carolina, Earl Hines, Entertainers who died in their 70s, Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood Walk of Fame, January 6, Jazz at the Philharmonic, Jazz bandleaders, Jazz trumpet players, John Coltrane, Jon Faddis, Lalo Schifrin, Latin, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Milt Jackson, Minton's Playhouse, National Medal of Arts recipients, Norman Granz's, North Carolina, October 21, People from South Carolina, Roy Eldridge, Sesame Street, Swing, autobiography, bandleader, bebop, beret, big band, composer, improviser, jazz, modern jazz, pop music, salsa, scat singing, singer, trumpeter
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Biography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
