Dizzy Gillespie
Trumpet
January 6, 1993 (Age 75) died
October 21, 1917 Birthday
Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S. Birthplace
Social
About
Dizzy Gillespie, with his puffed out cheeks, is one of the most recognizable and influential musicians in jazz. He was a trumpeter, bandleader, composer and vocalist and is credited with being one of the inventors of Bepob. Gillespie played with jazz greats including Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins. He composed well known tunes such as "A Night in Tunisia" and "Groovin High." Gillespie continued to innovate throughout his career and was a key figure in the development of Afro-Cuban Jazz in the late 1940s. His contributions to jazz and American music are widely acknowledged and he was honored with a Lifetime Grammy Achievement Award and received the Kennedy Center Honors award. Gillespie died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 75.
Trivia
In 1953 a dancer fell on Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet, angling the bell, but he liked it so much he continued to play specially made trumpets with angled bells. Dizzy Gillespie was the first jazz artist the US government sent abroad to spread American goodwill. In 1964 Dizzy Gillespie ran as a write-in candidate for President of the United States; he promised to rename the "White House" the "Blues House" if elected.
Early Life
Dizzy Gillespie was born John Birks Gillespie in 1917, the youngest of 9 children. His father was a bricklayer and amateur bandleader so Dizzy grew up surrounded by instruments. He began playing the piano at age 4 and taught himself trombone and trumpet at age 12. Gillespie earned a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute which he attended for 2 years before moving with this family to Philadelphia in 1935. He quickly found work with several local big bands and orchestras.
Dizzy Gillespie Solos
1957
Trumpet solo - On The Sunny Side Of The Street - 1957
4/4 swing in C major at 120 BPM
Trumpet solo - The Eternal Triangle - 1957
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 298 BPM
Trumpet solo - After Hours - 1957
12/8 swing in G major at 67 BPM
Trumpet solo - I Know That You Know - 1957
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 310 BPM
1946
Trumpet solo - Diggin' Diz - 1946
4/4 swing in C major at 200 BPM