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Dizzy Gillespie Thesis

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Dizzy Gillespie

In today’s world, people get excited when they hear about artists like Kanye West, Muse, and Beyoncé. Our generation has seemingly overlooked the musicians that laid down the pavement for these artists to be famous. These legends watched music progress from jazz, to rock, and now hip-hop. The music that once made hundreds of people rise to their feet and dance is now heard in elevators and coffee shops, which is truly a shame. One of the most tactlessly forgotten musicians of that time is a man that went by the name of Dizzy Gillespie.
John Birks Gillespie, known to most as Dizzy Gillespie, stood as one of the most imaginative artists in the history of jazz. He rose to fame during the bebop period of the jazz culture, taking place in the 1940s and 50s. One can even say that this type of fast-tempoed music came into being because of Dizzy Gillespie and his fellow musicians, Charlie Parker and Theolonius Monk. When Dizzy was born in South Carolina, no one expected they were looking at someone who would form a new style of jazz. As we go back through …show more content…

Dizzy was not one of these musicians. He even said, “I think the idea is now for blacks to write about the history of our music. It's time for that, because whites have been doing it all the time. It's time for us to do it ourselves and tell it like it is.” (Brainy Quote, 2015) He continued to perform and enhance his showmanship. Dizzy had many talents besides the trumpet, including the piano and a great sense of humor. He was well known for infusing jokes into some of the songs he sang or even making up parodies or popular songs. His ability to scat sing was held in the highest regard and was comparable to the great Louis Armstrong. Although many of his fans looked at him as a joker and a comedian of sorts, he was an incredibly serious and knowledgeable jazz

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