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Dizzy Gillespie

Pianist / Composer / Bandleader / Musician | * 10/21/1917 († 75, 01/06/1993) | Cheraw, South Carolina (United States of America (USA))
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( gil-ESP-ee; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge 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, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon. In the 1940s, Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, and balladeer Johnny Hartman. He pioneered Afro-Cuban jazz and won several Grammy Awards. Scott Yanow wrote, "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up being similar to those of Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successf... ()
Photo of Dizzy Gillespie
Most frequent genres for this person: Documentaries | Music | Animation

Known for these Movies & Shows

Awards & Nominations for Dizzy Gillespie

National Medal of Arts Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Paul Acket Award Kennedy Center Honors Commandeur Des Arts Et Des Lettres‎ Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame NEA Jazz Masters
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Movies with Dizzy Gillespie as Actor(27)

as Self (archive footage)2021 Charlie Parker: Bird Songs
as Self (archive footage)2021 Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
as Self (archive footage)2019 Jazz: The Only Way of Life
as Self (archive footage)2018 The Jazz Ambassadors
as Self (archive footage)2018 Michel Legrand: Sans demi-mesure
as himself2014 Brownie Speaks
as Self (archive footage)2012 Music According to Tom Jobim
as himself2004 Improvisation
as himself1994 A Great Day in Harlem
as Bill Swann1991 El invierno en Lisboa
as (voice)1990 Amazonia
as The Musicians1986 The Cosmic Eye
as Easter Bunny (voice)1982 A Family Circus Easter
as himself1980 Música para Sempre
as Father Time (voice)1974 Voyage to Next
as The First Border Guard (voice)1964 The Hat
as himself1964 Dizzy Gillespie
as (voice)1962 The Hole
as himself1958 Date with Dizzy
as himself1946 Jivin' in Bebop

TV Shows/Series with Dizzy Gillespie as Actor(6)

as himself1983 Bei Bio
as Self - Special Guest Star1976 The Muppet Show
as himself1972 Le Grand Échiquier
as himself1971 Great Performances
as Self - Guest1968 The Dick Cavett Show
as himself1961 The Mike Douglas Show

Movies with Dizzy Gillespie as Crew(3)

Sound/Original Music Composer1991 El invierno en Lisboa
Sound/Music1958 A Smattering of Spots
Sound/Music1958 Date with Dizzy

Full Name: John Gillespie
Born: Sunday, 10/21 1917 (October) in Cheraw, South Carolina (United States of America (USA))
Died: Wednesday, 01/06 1993 (January) in Englewood (aged: 75)
Zodiac sign: Libra (Chinese zodiac sign: Snake)
Languages: English (EN)
Educated at: Laurinburg Institute
Member of: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Record Label: Pablo, RCA Records, Savoy Records, Verve Records, Capitol Records, Dee Gee Records
Student of: Charlie Shavers, Mario Bauzá Cárdenas, Mary Lou Williams
Influenced by/Role models: Charlie Shavers, Louis Armstrong
Other names for Dizzy Gillespie (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie"
"John Birks Gillespie"
"Dizzy" (Nickname)
Dizzy Gillespie frequently works together with these people:
Faith Hubley (12x, Crew)
John Hubley (12x, Crew)
John Lovelady (12x, Cast)
Plácido Domingo (8x, Actor)
Jim Henson (7x, Actor)
Peter Friedman (6x, Actor)
Harry Belafonte (5x, Actor)
Oscar Peterson (5x, Actor)
Marcel Marceau (4x, Actor)
Duke Ellington (4x, Actor)
Geraldine Fitzgerald (4x, Actress)
Joan Baez (4x, Actress)
WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:322319, Added: 08/13/2018, Last updated: 03/12/2024