Dizzy Gillespie

Personal Info

Birthday

October 21, 1917

Day of Death

1993-01-06

(75 years old)

Place of Birth

Cheraw, South Carolina, USA

Also Known As

John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie

John Birks Gillespie

Dizzy Gillespie

Biography

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge[2] but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz.

His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality provided some of bebop's most prominent symbols. In the 1940s Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.