Dizzy Gillespie
By Stuart Kremsky
With his puffed-out cheeks and trumpet pointed to the sky, Dizzy Gillespie has been an iconic jazz figure for decades. An inveterate jammer and scene-maker, he was a key participant in the development of bebop as a non-pareil instrumentalist and occasional vocalist, a composer, and a leader of bands both big and small. He is also credited as the founder of Afro-Cuban jazz.
John Birks Gillespie was born on October 21, 1917, in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children. His father was a bricklayer as well as a piano-playing bandleader. The... Read More
- City Of Origin:
- Cheraw, South Carolina, United States
- Genre:
- Jazz, Bop, Hard Bop, Classic Jazz, Latin Jazz
- Birthdate:
- 10/21/1917
- Death date:
- 01/06/1993
