No one had cheeks like Dizzy Gillespie. When he played the trumpet, his cheeks blew up like a balloon! Gillespie was famous for that. However, he was a true legend of jazz. John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born on October 21, 1917. Now 100 years later, music fans look at his legacy.
Gillespie grew up in Cheraw, South Carolina. At that time, jazz was becoming popular. The 1920s was “the Jazz Age.” By the 1930s, Gillespie began playing with jazz stars. He played trumpet, led bands, and music until he died in 1993.
Gillespie revolutionized jazz. In the 1940s, he helped create a new form of jazz called bebop. That built on the old style of swing jazz. However, swing was for dancing. Bebop was faster and harder. It gave musicians a chance to . Musicians made up the notes as they went along!
People came from far away to see Gillespie play. He was very entertaining. In 1953, someone fell on one of Gillespie’s trumpets. It bent part of the instrument upward. That changed the tone of the trumpet. Gillespie liked the sound so much that he had his trumpets made that way!
John Hasse is a jazz expert. “Gillespie was one of the most influential trumpeters,” he said. Hasse called Gillespie “brilliant, funny, and .”
Hasse said Gillespie can teach musicians an important lesson. There is “the value of first mastering the fundamentals,” Hasse said. Then, you can “develop your own sound and style.” Hasse said Gillespie did that. And it’s how you can “remain .”
Gillespie may be gone. However, he will live on through bebop and other jazz. You can hear his influence in jazz clubs. Whether you love jazz or not, you can’t forget those cheeks!
Updated October 19, 2017, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Kai Burkhardt
