Dizzy Gillespie
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Biography
[Edit]Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time (some would say the best), Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up copying Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis' emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated. Somehow, Gillespie could make any "wrong" note fit, and harmonically he was ahead of everyone in the 1940s, including Charlie Parker. Unlike Bird, Dizzy was an enthusiastic teacher who wrote down his musical innovations and was eager to explain them to the next generation, thereby insuring that bebop would eventually become the foundation of jazz.
Dizzy Gillespie was also one of the key founders of Afro-Cuban (or Latin) jazz, adding Chano Pozo's conga to his orchestra in 1947, and utilizing complex poly-rhythms early on. The leader of two of the finest big bands in jazz history, Gillespie differed from many in the bop generation by being a masterful showman who could make his music seem both accessible and fun to the audience. With his puffed-out cheeks, bent trumpet (which occurred by accident in the early '50s when a dancer tripped over his horn), and quick wit, Dizzy was a colorful figure to watch. A natural comedian, Gillespie was also a superb scat singer and occasionally played Latin percussion for the fun of it, but it was his trumpet playing and leadership abilities that made him into a jazz giant.
The youngest of nine children, John Birks Gillespie taught himself trombone and then switched to trumpet when he was 12. He grew up in poverty, won a scholarship to an agricultural school (Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina), and then in 1935 dropped out of school to look for work as a musician. Inspired and initially greatly influenced by Roy Eldridge, Gillespie (who soon gained the nickname of "Dizzy") joined Frankie Fairfax's band in Philadelphia. In 1937, he became a member of Teddy Hill's orchestra in a spot formerly filled by Eldridge. Dizzy made his recording debut on Hill's rendition of "King Porter Stomp" and during his short period with the band toured Europe. After freelancing for a year, Gillespie joined Cab Calloway's orchestra (1939-1941), recording frequently with the popular bandleader and taking many short solos that trace his development; "Pickin' the Cabbage" finds Dizzy starting to emerge from Eldridge's shadow. However, Calloway did not care for Gillespie's constant chance-taking, calling his solos "Chinese music." After an incident in 1941 when a spitball was mischievously thrown at Calloway (he accused Gillespie but the culprit was actually Jonah Jones), Dizzy was fired.
By then, Gillespie had already met Charlie Parker, who confirmed the validity of his musical search. During 1941-1943, Dizzy passed through many bands including those led by Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Charlie Barnet, Fess Williams, Les Hite, Claude Hopkins, Lucky Millinder (with whom he recorded in 1942), and even Duke Ellington (for four weeks). Gillespie also contributed several advanced arrangements to such bands as Benny Carter, Jimmy Dorsey, and Woody Herman; the latter advised him to give up his trumpet playing and stick to full-time arranging.
Dizzy ignored the advice, jammed at Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House where he tried out his new ideas, and in late 1942 joined Earl Hines' big band. Charlie Parker was hired on tenor and the sadly unrecorded orchestra was the first orchestra to explore early bebop. By then, Gillespie had his style together and he wrote his most famous composition "A Night in Tunisia." When Hines' singer Billy Eckstine went on his own and formed a new bop big band, Diz and Bird (along with Sarah Vaughan) were among the members. Gillespie stayed long enough to record a few numbers with Eckstine in 1944 (most noticeably "Opus X" and "Blowing the Blues Away"). That year he also participated in a pair of Coleman Hawkins-led sessions that are often thought of as the first full-fledged bebop dates, highlighted by Dizzy's composition "Woody'n You."
1945 was the breakthrough year. Dizzy Gillespie, who had led earlier bands on 52nd Street, finally teamed up with Charlie Parker on records. Their recordings of such numbers as "Salt Peanuts," "'Shaw Nuff," "Groovin' High," and "Hot House" confused swing fans who had never heard the advanced music as it was evolving; and Dizzy's rendition of "I Can't Get Started" completely reworked the former Bunny Berigan hit. It would take two years for the often frantic but ultimately logical new style to start catching on as the mainstream of jazz. Gillespie led an unsuccessful big band in 1945 (a Southern tour finished it), and late in the year he traveled with Parker to the West Coast to play a lengthy gig at Billy Berg's club in L.A. Unfortunately, the audiences were not enthusiastic (other than local musicians) and Dizzy (without Parker) soon returned to New York.
The following year, Dizzy Gillespie put together a successful and influential orchestra which survived for nearly four memorable years. "Manteca" became a standard, the exciting "Things to Come" was futuristic, and "Cubana Be/Cubana Bop" featured Chano Pozo. With such sidemen as the future original members of the Modern Jazz Quartet (Milt Jackson, John Lewis, Ray Brown, and Kenny Clarke), James Moody, J.J. Johnson, Yusef Lateef, and even a young John Coltrane, Gillespie's big band was a breeding ground for the new music. Dizzy's beret, goatee, and "bop glasses" helped make him a symbol of the music and its most popular figure. During 1948-1949, nearly every former swing band was trying to play bop, and for a brief period the major record companies tried very hard to turn the music into a fad.
By 1950, the fad had ended and Gillespie was forced, due to economic pressures, to break up his groundbreaking orchestra. He had occasional (and always exciting) reunions with Charlie Parker (including a fabled Massey Hall concert in 1953) up until Bird's death in 1955, toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic (where he had opportunities to "battle" the combative Roy Eldridge), headed all-star recording sessions (using Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, and Sonny Stitt on some dates), and led combos that for a time in 1951 also featured Coltrane and Milt Jackson. In 1956, Gillespie was authorized to form a big band and play a tour overseas sponsored by the State Department. It was so successful that more traveling followed, including extensive tours to the Near East, Europe, and South America, and the band survived up to 1958. Among the young sidemen were Lee Morgan, Joe Gordon, Melba Liston, Al Grey, Billy Mitchell, Benny Golson, Ernie Henry, and Wynton Kelly; Quincy Jones (along with Golson and Liston) contributed some of the arrangements. After the orchestra broke up, Gillespie went back to leading small groups, featuring such sidemen in the 1960s as Junior Mance, Leo Wright, Lalo Schifrin, James Moody, and Kenny Barron. He retained his popularity, occasionally headed specially assembled big bands, and was a fixture at jazz festivals. In the early '70s, Gillespie toured with the Giants of Jazz and around that time his trumpet playing began to fade, a gradual decline that would make most of his '80s work quite erratic. However, Dizzy remained a world traveler, an inspiration and teacher to younger players, and during his last couple of years he was the leader of the United Nation Orchestra (featuring Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval). He was active up until early 1992.
Dizzy Gillespie's career was very well documented from 1945 on, particularly on Musicraft, Dial, and RCA in the 1940s; Verve in the 1950s; Philips and Limelight in the 1960s; and Pablo in later years.
Title: The Eternal Triangles
Artist: Sonny Stitt, The Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Legendary Sessions (Bonus Track Version) (CD1)
Artist: Sonny Stitt, The Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz
Title: Algo Bueno. The Complete Bluebird & Musicraft Recordings & The Pleyel Concert
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz
Title: Dizzy Gillespie - Havin' a Good Time in Paris
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz, World Music, Latin, Bop
Title: To Diz With Love (Live At the Blue Note)
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz, Latin, Alternative, Bop
Title: Summertime (Live)
Artist: Mongo Santamaria, Toots Thielemans, Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz, Crossover Jazz, Latin
Title: The Bop Session
Artist: Sonny Stitt, John Lewis, Hank Jones, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Percy Heath
Title: The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner
Artist: Clark Terry, Roy Eldridge, Harry Edison, Dizzy Gillespie
Title: Greatest Classics: Dizzy Gillespie, Errol Garner, Lester Young
Artist: Erroll Garner, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz
Collections
Title: Jazz Got the Blues
Genre: Jazz
Title: Amazing Jazz Performances from New York
Genre: Jazz
Title: Anywhere Anytime: Indoor Total Body Freedom
Genre: Pop, Alternative
Title: Alto Madness
Genre: Jazz
Title: New York Jazz Essentials
Genre: Jazz
Title: Afro-Cuban Jazz Grooves
Genre: Jazz
Title: Ken Burns Jazz - The Story of America's Music
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz For Spring
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Most Relaxing Jazz Music In the Universe
Genre: Jazz
Title: Atlantic Top 60: Jazz, Jive and Strut
Genre: Jazz
Title: BeBop Jazz Essentials
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz For Grandparents
Genre: Jazz
Title: Verve Remixed 2 - Exclusive EP
Genre: Electronica
Title: The Greatest Scat Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Most Relaxing Jazz: Trumpet
Genre: Jazz
Title: Bird Brains - Charlie Parker Imitators
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Royalty
Genre: Jazz
Title: A Beginners Guide to Jazz Trumpet
Genre: Jazz
Title: Great Jazz Trumpets
Genre: Jazz
Title: GRP 30 - The Digital Master Company 30th Anniversary
Genre: Jazz
Title: Classic Jazz Tunes
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Greatest Jazz Songwriters
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100% Latin Jazz
Genre: Latin
Title: All Time Greatest Jazz Hits
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Greatest Bossa Nova
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Greatest Jazz Duets
Genre: Jazz
Title: Hipster Christmas
Genre:
Title: The Greatest Hits of Blues and Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Selections From LA Noire
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: The Most Amazing Jazz Performances
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Legends
Genre: Jazz
Title: Falling Leaves: Jazz Classics for Autumn
Genre: Jazz
Title: Iced Coffee 3 - Chilled Jazz for Relaxation
Genre: Jazz
Title: Groovin' High - The Age Of Modern Jazz Begins
Genre: Jazz
Title: Blues, Swing and All That Jazz, Vol. 4
Genre: Pop
Title: Soothing Blues Vol 2
Genre: Blues
Title: Blue Moon (9 Versions)
Genre:
Title: Cole Porter: Easy To Love - The Platinum Collection
Genre:
Title: Jazz Masters Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz
Title: The 50's Big Band Jazz Vol 3
Genre: Jazz
Title: Legends Of Jazz (Live)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Martini Lounge
Genre: Jazz
Title: A Beginners Guide to Bossa Nova
Genre: Jazz
Title: Best of Jazz Samba
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Latino
Title: Jazz After Hours
Genre: Jazz
Title: Americans In Paris - Vive Le Jazz!
Genre: Jazz
Title: Cool Jazz for Hot Nights (Digital Only)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Hip Cats - The Swingin' Generation
Genre: Jazz
Title: Classic Jazz Tunes
Genre: Jazz
Title: Best of Be Bop
Genre: Jazz
Title: Kings of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: En Privado... Jazz Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz
Title: JAZZ: Autumn Vibes
Genre: Jazz
Title: Gangsters, Guns, & Molls! Jazz of the 1940's
Genre: Jazz
Title: 50 Traditional Jazz Standards, Vol. 1
Genre: Jazz
Title: I Got Rhythm - Godfathers of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Perdido. For the love of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz 'Round Midnight: Bossa Nova
Genre: Jazz
Featuring albums
Title: Perfect Peterson: The Best of the Pablo and Telarc Recordings
Artist: Oscar Peterson
Genre: Jazz
Title: Des femmes disparaissent / Les tricheurs (Musique des films)
Artist: Art Blakey
Genre: Jazz, Pop, Theatre/Soundtrack, Bop
Title: Tango Classics 341: Vida Mia (Historical Recordings)
Artist: Osvaldo Fresedo
Genre: World Music
Title: ACDA 2011 National Convention Central Washington University Vocal Jazz I
Artist: Vijay Singh
Genre:
Title: I Sastanak U Studiju
Artist: Boško Petrović / Bosko Petrovic, Joe Harris, Julius Watkins, Jerome Richardson, Davor Kajfes
Genre: Jazz, Contemporary Jazz