Gillespie, Dizzy

If Charlie Parker is considered to be the heart of bebop, then John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie must be considered its brain. His iconic bullfrog cheeks, upward bent trumpet and comical on-stage persona provided an accessible veneer for a musical intellect of the highest order. His efforts as a trumpeter, composer, bandleader and teacher resulted in some of jazz's most timelessly innovative moments during his 50-plus years in the public limelight.

Born in the rural town of Cheraw, SC on October 21, 1917, Gillespie displayed an aptitude for music at an early age. Starting on piano at age four, Gillespie first tried his hand at the trombone before finally settling on trumpet. His musical education continued at the Laurinburg Institute before eventually setting out on a musical career.

After stints in such smaller outlets as the Frank Fairfax, Edgar Hayes and Teddy Hill organizations, Gillespie's first major exposure to the music world came during his time in the band of singer Cab Calloway. Heavily influenced by swing era icon Roy Eldridge, Gillespie's solos already displayed an unusually advanced style both rhythmically and harmonically. This, coupled with his clownish personality, did not always sit well with Calloway, whose musical tastes were much more conservative. This conflict eventually came to an abrupt fore with a now-famous incident involving a spitball, leading to a physical confrontation that resulted in Gillespie's immediate firing.

Gillespie's path as one of jazz's key innovators began to take shape during his time as a member of the band of crooner Billy Eckstine in the mid-1940s. It was here where Gillespie formed his legendary musical union with saxophonist Charlie Parker. The two young musicians, perennially unsatisfied with the state of jazz as it was, found a sympathetic situation with Eckstine, who was more than willing to allow for his young charges to experiment. These experiments led to the eventual recording of several modern day bebop anthems, including Gillespie's compositions "Salt Peanuts" and "Groovin' High," which remain frequently played standards to this day.

In addition to his influence on the burgeoning bebop movement, Gillespie was also one of the first musicians to actively incorporate elements of Afro-Cuban music into more traditional jazz sounds. Together with conguero Luciano "Chano" Pozo Gonzales and multi-instrumentalist Mario Bauza, Gillespie helped codify what has now become one of the most typically emulated styles of jazz through his recordings such as "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo."

In the early 1950s, Parker's increasingly erratic lifestyle would lead to he and Gillespie parting ways. This did not stop Gillespie from continuing moving forward on his musical journey. Returning to his long time love of big bands, Gillespie's various orchestras over the years serve as a textbook example of how to properly adapt the harmonic and rhythmic innovations of bebop into a format that may otherwise have seemed inhospitable to the style.

Influenced by his Baha'i faith, Gillespie's selflessness in sharing the spotlight made him an ideal mentor figure for many young up-and-comers in the jazz world. A non-exhaustive list of his protegees over the years include such heavyweights as trumpeters Lee Morgan, Jon Faddis and Arturo Sandoval; saxophonists James Moody, John Coltrane, and Paquito D'Rivera; pianists Wynton Kelly, Mike Longo and Kenny Barron; and drummers Kenny Clarke, Charli Persip and Ignacio Berroa.

Gillespie passed away from pancreatic cancer on January 6, 1993. His legacy continues on today through both the work of his musical family and that of the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, who maintain the memory of their namesake through recordings and world tours. Jazz Lines Publications is extremely proud to be able to aid in this legacy by presenting definitive versions of several of Gillespie's most well-known works.

BENNY GOLSON JAZZ LINES PUBLICATIONS OCTET CHARTS: FOUR ARRANGEMENT COMPLETE SET

Recorded by Dizzy Gillespie

Arranged by Benny Golson, Prepared by Rob DuBoff and Jeffrey Sultanof

Four Jazz Octet Arrangements

Jazz Lines Publications

JLP-1029

$160.00

The Global Source for Jazz

Gillespie, Dizzy