(1917-1993) famous American jazz composer and trumpeter, pioneer of the bebop jazz movement
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (
October 21 1917 –
January 6 1993) was an
American jazz trumpeter,
bandleader,
singer, and
composer. He was born in
Cheraw, South Carolina. Together with
Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of
bebop and
modern jazz. In addition to featuring in these epochal moments in jazz, he was instrumental in founding
Afro-Cuban jazz, the modern jazz version of what early-jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton referred to as the "
Spanish Tinge". Gillespie was a trumpet
virtuoso and gifted
improviser, building on the virtuoso style of
Roy Eldridge but adding layers of
harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. In addition to his instrumental skills, Dizzy's
beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his
scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop, which was originally regarded as threatening and frightening music by many listeners raised on older styles of jazz. He had an enormous impact on virtually every subsequent trumpeter, both by the example of his playing and as a mentor to younger musicians.
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