October 21st is Dizzy Gillespie Day!!!

October 21st is Dizzy Gillespie Day!!!

"John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, along with Charlie Parker, ushered in the era of Be-Bop in the American jazz tradition. He was born Cheraw, South Carolina, and was the youngest of nine children. He began playing piano at the age of four and received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Most noted for his trademark "swollen cheeks", Gillespie admitted to copying the style of trumpeter Roy Eldridge early in his career. He replaced Eldridge in the 'Teddy Hill' Band after Eldridge's departure. He eventually began experimenting and creating his own style which would eventually come to the attention of Mario Bauza, the Godfather of Afro-Cuban jazz who was then a member of the Cap Calloway Orchestra, joining Calloway in 1939, Gillespie was fired after two years when he cut a portion of the Calloway's buttocks with a knife after Calloway accused him of throwing spitballs (the two men later became lifelong friends and often retold this story with great relish until both of their deaths)." Thank you Mr. Gillespie for all of your contributions and inspiration! Please click the link below and learn more about Dizzy Gillespie. :-)

http://www.dizzygillespie.com/

"I always try to teach by example and not force my ideas on a young musician. One of the reasons we're here is to be a part of this process of exchange." - Dizzy Gillespie