John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie is a jazz icon. An epochal trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator & singer, his combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit defined the new sound of 1940s bebop. Together with Charlie Parker, this unique approach brought harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality provide one of bebop's most enduring symbols.
A major figure in the development of modern jazz, he taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, & balladeer Johnny Hartman.
This programme, led by NYJO Artistic Director, Mark Armstrong, celebrates the joyous, ever-green music of one of jazz's great iconoclasts.