Daily Almanac for
Dec 5, 2008
Search White Pages
Info search tips
Bio search tips

Dizzy Gillespie

Trumpeter / Composer

Born: 21 October 1917
Died: 6 January 1993
Birthplace: Cheraw, South Carolina
Best known as: Jazz great who had that upturned trumpet

Name at birth: John Birks Gillespie

Nicknamed "Dizzy" because of his comical antics, Gillespie played trumpet in the 1930s in bands led by Teddy Hill and Lionel Hampton. Throughout the '40s and '50s Gillespie led his own bands, both big and small, and soloed as he toured the world. With Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis, Gillespie ushered in the bebop era of jazz. He toured and performed right up to his death in 1993.

Extra credit: His famous upturned horn was originally the result of an accident. He liked the sound, and it became one of his signatures throughout his career.

Copyright © 1998-2006 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

More on Dizzy Gillespie from Infoplease:

  • Gillespie: meaning and definitions - Gillespie: Definition and Pronunciation
  • Dizzy Gillespie - Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy (John Birks Gillespie), 1917–93, American jazz musician and ...
  • Dizzy Gillespie - Biography of Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz great who had that upturned trumpet
  • Chuck Wayne - Chuck Wayne jazz guitarist Wayne was one of the first practitioners of the be-bop movement, ...
  • Cab Calloway - Calloway, Cab Calloway, Cab (Cabell Calloway), 1907–94, jazz singer and band leader, b. ...

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark