Dizzy Gillespie

Biography

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge[2] but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality provided some of bebop's most prominent symbols. In the 1940s Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, and balladeer Johnny Hartman. AllMusic's Scott Yanow wrote: "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up being similar to those of Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated [....] Arguably Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Known For

Self

Dizzy Gillespie: Live at the Royal Festival Hall

Self

The Beginnings of Bebop

Self (archive footage)

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

The First Border Guard (voice)

The Hat

Self - trompettiste

Jazz session: Dizzy Gillepsie en concert au studio 104 - 1970

Father Time (voice)

Voyage to Next

Self

Good Evening Ev'rybody: In Celebration of Louis Armstrong

Self (archive footage)

The Last Of The Blue Devils - The Kansas City Jazz Story

Self

Dizzy Gillespie

Self

The Best Of Louis Armstrong: Satchmo At His Best

Self

Slim Gaillard's Civilisation

Self

Cool

Self - Musician (archive footage)

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

Self (archive footage)

The Harlem Renaissance

Self

Jazz Icons: Dizzy Gillespie Live in '58 & '70

Self

Smith, James O. - Organist, USA. 1. Die Europa-Tournee des Jazz-Organisten Jimmy Smith

Easter Bunny (voice)

A Family Circus Easter

The Musicians

The Cosmic Eye

Self - Trumpet

A Night In Havana: Dizzy Gillespie In Cuba

Self

Música para Sempre

(voice)

The Hole

Self

Improvisation

Self

All-Star Jazz Show: Live From The Ed Sullivan Theater

Self

Date with Dizzy

Self

Dizzy Gillespie - Live in Montreal

Self (archive footage)

A Música Segundo Tom Jobim

Bill Swann

El invierno en Lisboa

Self

Brownie Speaks

Narrator

Didn't We Ramble On

Self (archive footage)

The Jazz Ambassadors

Self

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar

Self (archive footage)

Michel Legrand, sans demi-mesure

(voice)

Amazonia

Self

Miles Ahead: The Music of Miles Davis

Self (archive footage)

Jazz: The Only Way of Life

Self

Six Short Films of Les Blank (1960-1985)

Self

Monterey Jazz Festival 1975

Self

Jivin' in Bebop

Self

A Great Day in Harlem

Self (archive footage)

Charlie Parker - Bird Songs

Self

Dizzy's Dream Band

Self (archive footage)

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

Self

Duke Ellington: Love You Madly

Self

Jazz Legends in Their Own Words

Self (Archival Footage)

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

Self

To Bop or Not To Be: A Jazz Life

Self (archive footage)

Maurice Baquet, l'Accordé

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

47

Gender

Male

Birthday

1917-10-21

Place of Birth

Cheraw, South Carolina, USA

Also Known As

John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie