Dizzy GillespieTo be, or not-- to bop
You don't have to know John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie's songs to feel his influence. The self-taught trumpet player rose from a poor but musically driven upbringing to become a jazz mastermind, founding the bebop movement and giving rise to Afro-Cuban music. This extensive biography is intertwined with reflections from famous Gillespie associates Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others.
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. In the 1940s Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz..
