Dizzy Gelespie (John Birks Gillespie)

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The people of today, raised by the sounds of The Beatles and Pearl Jam have forgotten all about the musicians that paved the way for these artists, and the musical styles that evolved into rock and roll, rhythm and blues and rap or hip hop. Unfortunately the music that once dominated the night clubs, restaurants, and radio stations is now heard only in elevators or when we go to a grandparents house to visit. What is left of jazz are small portions of the music that people take and sample with in a new song. Jazz and its historical figures have mistreated and forgotten by today's society. One of the figure most forgotten is John Birks Gillespie, known to the jazz world as "Dizzy" Gillespie.

"Dizzy" Gillespie was a trumpet player, composer, bandleader and politician of mostly the early 40's to mid 50's. This was a time period in Jazz called Bebop, Bop or sometimes known as Rebop. Bebop got its name from the musical language musicians would speak to one another while trying to explain a rhythm. "Bop, Bop, Doba sho ba, Bop, Bop." this was also a common style of singing which was first introduced by Louis Armstrong, called scatting (Kerfeld, 137). This fast tempo music was pioneered by saxophonist Charlie Parker, drummer Max Roach, pianist Thelonious Monk and trumpeter "Dizzy" Gillespie. Gillespie was one of the chief innovators of this new style of music as well as an important figure to all musicians to follow him and international figure for the United States.(Kerfeld, 137)

John Birks was born in Cheraw, South Carolina on October 21, 1917. The young prodigy was first introduced to music by his father, a weekend bandleader. Gillespie's father was not as talented as John was to become, he relied on a more stable income as mason around their home ~own. Four years after his fathers death, when Birks was 14, he began learning the trombone and trumpet without any formal instruction. Recognized by the staff at Laurinberg Institute, in North Carolina, as a prodigy, he was given a scholarship to be a member of the band in 1932. Throughout his stay at the Laurinberg Institute he studied vigorously both the trumpet and piano, building him self a long road that would constantly pave the way to something valuable, new, and historic (Kerfeld, 428). Gillespie did not know that he would become a pioneer in a new style called Beb...

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