Share

Dizzy Gillespie biography

1 photo

Quick Facts

  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Cheraw, South Carolina
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Englewood, New Jersey
more about Dizzy

Best Known For

A jazz trumpeter and composer, Dizzy Gillespie played with Charlie Parker and developed the music known as bebop.


Synopsis

Born John Birks Gillespie on October 21, 1917, in Cheraw, South Carolina, Dizzy Gillespie worked in prominent swing bands, including those of Benny Carter and Charlie Barnet, developing his own band later and his own signature style, known as bebop.

Contents

Profile

Jazz trumpeter, composer. Born John Birks Gillespie on October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina. He worked in prominent swing bands (1937–44), including those of Benny Carter and Charlie Barnet. As a bandleader, often with Charlie Parker on saxophone, he developed the music known as bebop, with dissonant harmonies and polyrhythms, a reaction to swing.

Gillespie's own big band (1946–50) was his masterpiece, affording him scope as both soloist and showman. He was immediately recognizable from the unusual shape of his trumpet, with the bell tilted upwards at an angle of 45° - the result of someone accidentally sitting on it in 1953, but to good effect, for when he played it afterwards he discovered that the new shape improved the sound quality, and he had it incorporated into all his trumpets thereafter.

Gillespie's memoirs To Be or Not to Bop (with Al Fraser) appeared in 1979. In 1990, he received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

© 2012 A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved.

ADVERTISEMENT

GetGlue

9311417 9311417
profile id: 9311417
profile name: Dizzy Gillespie
profile occupation:
related profile id: 9311417
related profile name: Dizzy Gillespie
related profile occupation:
related profile img: /imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/G/Dizzy-Gillespie-9311417-2-402.jpg
related profile URL: /people/dizzy-gillespie-9311417
profile
pop
Your Connections

Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

specific profile connection
Your Friends' Connections
specific friend connection
Profile Connections
    Show More Connections
    Included In These Groups

    See all related groups

    Celebrity Connections

    Show More Connections
    Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!