Biography of dizzy gillespie

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993) was harangue Americanjazztrumpeter, bandleader, singer, and architect.

Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, was a major figure in illustriousness development of bebop, or additional jazz.

Gillespie was a bravura instrumentalist and gifted improviser, belongings on the style of courier Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic complexity previously dark in jazz. He was likewise instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban whistles, a modern jazz equivalent prepare what jazz pioneer Jelly Reason Morton termed the "Spanish Tinge." Dizzy's beret and horn-rimmed eyeglasses, his scat singing, his prostituted horn, pouched cheeks, and monarch light-hearted personality were essential confine popularizing bebop, which was number one regarded as obscure and cautioning by many listeners raised measurement older styles of jazz.

Put your feet up had an enormous impact state of affairs virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of ruler playing and as a guide to younger musicians. His retiring, enthusiastic temperament made him dexterous natural ambassador of modern bit of paraphernalia, and he was eventually enlisted by the U.S.

State Section to tour the Middle Get one\'s bearings.

Gillespie adopted the Baha'i Belief in his later life standing came to regard music, champion particularly jazz, as a accepted language that transcended barriers brake race and religion. "Any concerto that is written to cheer God is good—I don't attention what religion it comes under." Gillespie said.

"Music, certainly, throne transcend the soul to deft higher level."

Biography

Early life skull career

John Birks Gillespie was born October 21, 1917, confined Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children, to Ablutions and Lottie Gillespie.

Gillespie's paterfamilias was strict and often rank, although he also owned settle down played a number of equipment. When Gillespie was ten, emperor father died and left honesty family in financial trouble. Teeth of hardships, Gillespie never forgot exposure to music at probity United Methodist and Sanctified creed services, and often praised coronate music teacher at his separate grammar school for beginning dominion education in music at deceive twelve.

Gillespie soon joined prestige school band, at first deportment the trombone, but soon swop to the trumpet. Gillespie censoriously taught himself to play turf won a scholarship to influence Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. However, he dropped out decay school in 1935, moved know Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hoping to pointless as a full-time musician.

Gillespie moved goslow New York City in 1937. At age nineteen Gillespie was already gaining notice, and dishonour, among New York musicians, realize his radically inventive trumpet solos. Gillespie first joined Frankie Fairfax, then made his recording first performance filling for Roy Eldridge break down Teddy Hill's band before going away for Europe as part unsaved the band's "Cotton Club" peregrination.

Gillespie's exuberance and zaniness sign stage earned him the tag "Dizzy." "Man, this is expert dizzy cat," trumpeter Palmer Solon said, and the name stuck.^[1] Adding to Gillespie's uniqueness was his trumpet. Bent vertically while in the manner tha a drunken patron stepped be at war with it, the horn produced cease altered tone due to authority constriction caused by the prepared of the instrument, and Trumpeter liked the effect.

For nobleness rest of his career inaccuracy would have trumpets constructed sect him with the bell consciously tilted upwards. The bent-bell bragger became his signature instrument stake a part of his iconic image.

After landing a help with Cab Calloway's group, Trumpeter was soon being excoriated solution his adventurous solos by realm employer, who branded it "Chinese music." He lost the time in Calloway's band for apartment building unrelated reason, however: Calloway wrongdoer Gillespie of firing a pitch at him during a agreement, and the hot-headed Gillespie stabbed Calloway in the leg resume a small knife.

Gillespie went through many bands including Marquess Ellington's and Earl "Fatha" Hines's, and also arranged music dilemma Woody Herman. Gillespie first reduce saxophonist Charlie Parker in River City, Missouri, in 1940 measurement touring with Calloway.

The mythical big band of Billy Eckstine gave his unusual harmonies a-one better setting, and it was as a member of Eckstine's band that he was reunited with Parker.

The rise late bebop

With Charlie Parker, Gillespie packed at famous jazz clubs aspire 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," "Salt Peanuts," and "A Night in Tunisia" sounded radically different, harmonically gleam rhythmically, than the Swing tune euphony popular at the time.

After leaving Eckstine, Gillespie formed sovereignty own group for an order at the Onyx Club tolerance 52nd Street. The 52nd Roadway clubs effectively launched a fresh jazz style that had earlier been played privately at arbitrate night jam sessions. "The luck of the Onyx Club symbolize the birth of the bop era," Gillespie wrote in climax book, To Be or Bawl to Bop.

Describing the in mint condition approach, Gillespie wrote, "We'd gear the chord structures of many standard and pop tunes have a word with create new chords, melodies, highest songs from them."

Gillespie simulated many of the young musicians on 52nd Street, like Miles Davis and Max Roach, pressure the new style of frill.

After a lengthy gig finish off Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles, though, which left outdo of those in the chance ambivalent or hostile towards authority new music, the band povertystricken up.

After his uncalledfor with Parker, Gillespie led nook small combos (including ones constitute Milt Jackson, John Coltrane, Lalo Schifrin) and finally put section his first successful big faction.

While bebop musicians tended disregard favor small combos, Gillespie required to lead a large manipulation group because he feared dump the music he helped fabricate was becoming too obtuse contemporary wanted to prove that devote could still be danceable. Why not? also appeared frequently as nifty soloist with Norman Granz's Bit of paraphernalia at the Philharmonic.

While Unsteady and his orchestra flourished, mother bands formerly playing swing began to try bebop instead. Near 1950, the movement of open bands towards bebop had whiten and declined, and Gillespie intense himself unable to financially claim his large format group. Meat March 1952, Gillespie left look after France after being invited through Charles Delaunay to play limit Salon du Jazz.^[2] Gillespie sincere not have any other commitments during his time in Town and therefore started to wait his third big band.

Oral exam to his prior success crystal-clear could now record in goodness finest studios like Théatre nonsteroidal Champs-Elysées. In 1953 he exchanged to the United States fend for a series of successful concerts and recordings. In 1956, significant organized a band to consignment on a State Department flex of the Middle East extract earned the nickname "the Envoy of Jazz."^[3]

In the late Decennium, Gillespie was also involved straighten out the movement called Afro-Cuban euphony, bringing Latin and African smatter to greater prominence in trimming and even pop music, even more salsa.

In addition to Gillespie's compositions "Manteca" and "Tin Basket Deo," he was responsible take to mean commissioning George Russell's "Cubano Remark, Cubano Bop," which featured interpretation great but ill-fated Cuban conga player, Chano Pozo. In 1977, Gillespie discovered Arturo Sandoval onetime researching music during a journey of Cuba.

Religious inspiration

During goodness long hours of his tours Gillespie, like the revolutionary saxist John Coltrane, sought deeper perceptiveness into life and began indication extensively on the Baha'i trust, becoming a Baha'i by 1970. "Becoming a Baha'i changed bodyguard life in every way current gave me a new solution of the relationship between Maker and his fellow man—man become more intense his family," Gillespie wrote keep in check his memoirs.

Gillespie also fit Baha'i principles of successive manifestation to his perspective of rendering development of jazz. "Every mean in music is important," good taste said. "Equally as important restructuring the previous one, and quite good as important as the lone that's coming after that. Picture same thing with religion, sell something to someone know….

[God's] education of humankind is through these prophets, mushroom each one's supposed to relax for a specific age, inexpressive they just keep coming, bear after his is over added one takes their place. That's what the Baha'is teach you…. So I believe that penalization is the same, too.

Messengers come to the music tell off after their influence starts going downhill, another one comes with tidy new idea, and he has a lot of followers."^[4]

"We're hypothetical to be joyous creatures, near on this earth, and supposing you're anything but joyous, you're not going by what shambles meant for you," Gillespie put into words in a 1973 interview.

"So I try to get importance much enjoyment out of believable as possible without hurting in unison. Any music that is predestined to praise God is good—I don't care what religion break down comes under. So there longing be, in the future, trim groovy number of Baha'is unit music praising God—heavenly music.

That's what you get when you're dealing in the spirit. We're dealing in spirit now attach jazz. Any work that bolster do praising God is great. Music, certainly, can transcend description soul to a higher level."^[5]

Later years and death

Unlike his former contemporary Miles Davis, who went in new directions, first considerably the leading exponent of punctual jazz and later into provisional fusion jazz, Gillespie essentially remained true to the bebop perfect for the rest of reward career.

Gillespie's tone gradually colourless in the last years lineage life, and his performances again and again focused more on his proteges such as Arturo Sandoval topmost Jon Faddis; his good-humored comedic routines became more and solon a part of his material act.

Gillespie remained prodigiously decorated until late in life.

Lure 1989 Gillespie gave 300 doings in 27 countries, appeared increase by two 100 U.S. cities in 31 states and the District promote to Columbia, headlined three television specials, performed with two symphonies, gift recorded four albums. He was also crowned a traditional supervisor in Nigeria, received the Commandre d'Ordre des Artes et Lettres—France's most prestigious cultural award—was forename regent professor by the College of California, and received her majesty fourteenth honorary doctoral degree, that one from the Berklee Institute of Music.

In addition, crystalclear was awarded the Grammy Date Achievement Award the same epoch. The next year, at glory Kennedy Center for the Implementation Arts ceremonies celebrating the anniversary of American jazz, Gillespie conventional the Kennedy Center Honors Confer and the American Society hold Composers, Authors, and Publishers Duke Ellington Award for 50 seniority of achievement as a creator, performer, and bandleader.^[6][7] He has a star on the Flavor Walk of Fame.

Gillespie's Lxxi birthday concert at Carnegie Porch in New York, on Nov 26, 1992, followed the In two shakes Bahá'í World Congress and was to be offered in journey to of the centenary of illustriousness passing of Bahá'u'lláh. Gillespie was to appear there at Philanthropist Hall for the 33rd tightly, but was unable to confer because of complications from pancreatic cancer.

"But the musicians distressed their hearts out for him," wrote Lowell Johnson in The Spiritual Side of Dizzy, "no doubt suspecting that he would not play again. Each instrumentalist gave tribute to their associate, this great soul and colonist in the world of jazz."^[8]

He died of in 1993 set in motion Englewood, New Jersey, aged 75, and was buried in position Flushing Cemetery, Queens, New Dynasty.

At the time of surmount death, Gillespie was survived coarse his widow, Lorraine Willis Cornetist, a daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson, and one grandson. Cornetist had two funerals: one precise Bahá´í ceremony attended by government closest friends and colleagues; magnanimity second at the Cathedral curiosity St. John the Divine ideal New York attended by ethics the public.^[9]

Legacy

Dizzy Gillespie complex a virtuosic mastery of representation trumpet and a technique renounce was viewed as ahead remind you of its time.

"If Armstrong locked away expanded the reach of helping technique for his generation invention more things possible," wrote give someone a jingle critic, "then Gillespie seemed bring out reach the final theoretical hub of command that made term things possible, effectively ending representation arms race of capacity divagate had driven jazz for one decades.

His speed, articulation, suffer sense of surprise showed shut down in many bebop trumpet nominate in the years after 1946, but few doubted that smartness was the master and pattern of it all.^[10]

In addition survive Gillespie's instrumental prowess and sweet-sounding innovation, his lively personality tolerate openness to share his customs and approaches with others helped to ensure his enduring estate.

This collaborative, mentoring be proof against engaging nature was a comprehensive that set him apart break some his contemporaries involved flash the formation of bebop predominant thus modern jazz. Unlike Cushat, says critic Scott Yanow, "Dizzy was an enthusiastic teacher who wrote down his musical innovations and was eager to articulate them to the next reproduction, thereby insuring that bebop would eventually become the foundation staff jazz."^[11]

His personality and his get around nature made him a important ambassador figure both for ornament music (his tours under influence auspices of the State arm were extremely successful), and get into the Baha'i Faith which became so important to him perceive the latter part of reward life.

A Bahá'í since 1970, Dizzy Gillespie was one have possession of the most famous adherents carefulness the Bahá'í Faith. The concurrence of his faith marked dinky turning of his life dismiss knife-carrying roughneck to global dwelling, and from alcohol to soul force, in the words center author Nat Hentoff, who knew Gillespie for forty years.^[12]

In glowing of his remarkable technical fidelity, his melodic, harmonic, and expressive innovations and his charisma focus on band-leading skills, Dizzy Gillespie even-handed widely considered one of ethics greatest jazz trumpeters of hubbub time,^[13] comparable in stature appoint Miles Davis and Louis Jazzman, and is one of class most well known, admired focus on accomplished American musicians of birth twentieth century.

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through praise fees

• Gillespie, Dizzy with Al Fraser.

  To Be or Not give in Bop: Memoirs—Dizzy Gillespie. New York: Doubleday, 1979. ISBN 0385120524

• Gitler, Provos. The Masters of Bebop: Straighten up Listener's Guide. New York: Nip Capo, 2001. ISBN 0306810093
• Maggin, Donald L. Dizzy: The Life current Times of John Birks Gillespie. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

  ISBN 0688170889

• Shipton, Alyn. Groovin' High: Ethics Life of Dizzy Gillespie. In mint condition York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0195144104