WHEN THE WORLD DIZZY BOPPED

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie WAS born October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. he was one of the a major figures in the development of bebop. Nicknamed "Dizzy" because of his zany on-stage antics, Gillespie, a brass virtuoso, set new standards for trumpet players with his innovative, "jolting rhythmic shifts and ceaseless harmonic explorations" on the instrument during the 1940's period, which ushered in a definitive change in American Jazz music from swing to bebop.

The youngest of nine children, Dizzy's father was a pianist and band leader .
Dizzy's father kept all the instruments from his band in the family home and so
the future trumpet great was around trumpets, saxophones, guitars and his
father's large upright piano most of his young life. Dizzy's father died when he
was ten and never heard his youngest son play trumpet, although he did get the
chance to hear him playing around on the piano at a very early age.

In 1933, after graduating from a secondary school, Gillespie received a music scholarship to attend Laurinburg Institute, in North Carolina. He stayed there for two years, studying harmony and theory until his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1935. In Philadelphia, Gillespie began playing trumpet with local bands, learning Roy Eldridge's solos from records and radio broadcasts: it was in Philadelphia that he picked up his nickname of "Dizzy.". In 1937, "Dizzy" moved to New York and replaced Eldridge in Teddy Hill's Orchestra. After a couple of years Gillespie moved on to Cab Calloway's band in 1939.

In 1937, Gillespie met his future wife, Lorraine, a chorus dancer at the famed Apollo Theater: they were married in 1940 and remained together until his death. Gillespie worked with many bands during the early 1940's (Chick Webb, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter, "Fatha" Hines and Billy Eckstine's seminal band ) before teaming up with Charlie Parker in 1945. Their revolutionary band ushered in the bebop era and was one of the greatest small bands of the 20th century. An arranger and composer, Gillespie wrote some of the greatest jazz tunes of his era: songs such as "Groovin' High", "A Night in Tunisia" and "Manteca" are considered jazz classics today..

With his trumpet and its upturned, golden bell, goatee, black horn rim glasses and beret, Gillespie became a symbol of both jazz and a rebellious, independent spirit during the 1940's and 50's. His interest in Cuban and African music helped to introduce those music's to a mainstream American audience. When he died he was famous and beloved everywhere and had influenced entire generations of trumpet players all over the world who loved and emulated his playing and his always positive, upbeat, optimistic attitude.

Theodore "Fats"Navarro

I often wonder where did Clifford Brown get his influence, after doing some research i discover that Fats Navarro was one of his biggest influences and if you listen to "Fats" you can hear Clifford playing thur him. Here is a brief look at Fats Navarro.

Fats Navarro was born Theodore Navarro in Key West, Florida on September 24th, 1923. his father was Cuban, African-American, and . As a child, Navarro had piano lessons, but then switched to
trumpet and tenor saxophone. While still in high school in Key West he
began to play professionally on the tenor saxophone, before switching
definitively to trumpet in 1941, A band on the road traveling north to
Cincinnati His main influences on trumpet until that time had been his
third cousin Charlie Shavers and then, more significantly, Roy
Eldridge, the harmonic link between Louis Armstrong and the beboppers of
he 1940s.In late 1943 Navarro joined Andy Kirk's band, and the presence of
Howard McGhee in the trumpet section brought a bebop influence to his
playing. His first recordings were In 1944, while the Kirk band was in
New York, Navarro sat in at Minton's (sometimes referred to as "the bebop
laboratory") In January 1945 he replaced Dizzy Gillespie, who was by
then a significant influence on him, in Billy Eckstine's band. At that
time this was the most modern and influential big band, having had
several notable members besides Gillespie, including Charlie Parker,
Dexter Gordon, and Art Blakey. In June 1946 Navarro left Eckstine,
choosing to work with Lionel Hampton in 1948) primarily in the New York
area. He acquired the nickname "Fats" because of his weight,
cherubic face, and high voice. Navarro married Rena Clark sometime
in the late 1940s and had one daughter. He died in New York City,
A few recorded solos with the Eckstine band exist, but most of
Navarro's work is in the small-band format favored by the beboppers; he
made more than 100 recordings primarily as a sideman with groups
led by Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Tadd Dameron, Kenny Clarke, Coleman
Hawkins, and Dexter Gordon, among others. A small number of these
recordings are compositions by Navarro himself.
Navarro had a highly individual style, and was, along with
Gillespie, one of the leading bebop trumpeters of the 1940s. He had a
big, beautiful sound, quite different from Gillespie's, and
though he had a wide range (concert Fs above high C appear regularly in
his solos), he exploited the upper
register less than Gillespie. Very
long, clearly articulated phrases and a strong sense of swing
characterize his style. In these respects and in his general fluency
Navarro was a significant influence
on, most importantly, Clifford Brown, among many others. According
to Gillespie himself quoted in an
obituary by George Simon in Metronome (Oct. 1950), Navarro was
"the best all-around trumpeter of them all. He had everything a
trumpeter should have: tone, ideas, execution, and reading ability."

The Beginning

In the early days there was a trumpet player named Joe Oliver who is one of the most important figures in early Jazz. Joe had an array of improvisational styling that made him a great soloist that lead him to becoming a leader of his own band. He was the mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong. Louis idolized him and called him Papa Joe. Oliver even gave Armstrong the first cornet that Louis was to own. Joe was famous for his using mutes, derbies, bottles and cups to alter the sound of his cornet. He was able to get a wild array of sounds out of his horn with this arsenal of home made mutes. Oliver started playing in
New Orleans around 1908 He often worked in bands around town and in 1917 he was being called the "King" . In 1919 he moved to Chicago and played in The Original Creole Orchestra He toured with the band, but when he returned to Chicago in 1922 he started the King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band . Oliver imported his protégé Louis Armstrong from New Orleans. The band first sessions around 1923 were a milestone in Jazz, introducing the playing of Louis Armstrong to the world. Unfortunately the Creole Jazz Band gradually fell apart in 1924. Oliver went on to record a pair of duets with the great pianist Jelly Roll Morton . In 1925 he became the leader of the Dave Peyton's band and moved the band to New York City in 1927. Oliver continued to record until 1931 he continued to tour the South with various groups, and settled in Georgia where he worked in a pool hall up until his death in 1938.