28 Days of American History

Feb 2, 2010

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Born John Gillespie on October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina (I've been there, trust me ain't NOTHING there). "Dizzy" Gillespie's parents were musicians and he didn't fall far from the tree, learning how to play piano at the age of 4 and teaching himself how to play the trumpet before he was a teenager (that is not easy task, I tried teaching myself the piano at age 21 and gave up in disgust).

He was a pioneer in jazz, specifically modern bebop. He was popular for his style of play, with an upturned horn. Heavily involved in the Afro-Cuban movement, Dizzy was responsible for bringing Latin and African elements to greater importance in jazz and even in pop music.

In the 1960s, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame (that's a famous jazz magazine, folk, established in the early 30s).

I was gonna put how he got his nickname but can someone actually tell me how he got the nickname Dizzy?

2 comments:

Kimberly said...

I have no idea how he got the nickname, but I do love how you set this month's collection of posts up. Nnniiccceee =)

Dub said...

thanks!

 
Don't watch me, w-w-watch my feet....