John Birks Gillespie: The Bebop King

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Recommended: How historians think bebop changed jazz

A man who used his life to the highest potential possible created something no other person had done before his time. John Birks Gillespie created music in other ways people believed were not possible. From Bebop, Gillespie's famous style of Modern Jazz, to leading the United Nations Orchestra! Gillespie was a man of his time and was unlike any other. All of this tied in to Gillespie getting inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1985.
Thesis Statement – John Birks Gillespie was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1985 because he represented the United States by playing in the Teddy Hill Orchestra on a world tour, designed the Bebop Revolution in Jazz music, and established the UN Orchestra.
While in the Teddy Hill Orchestra, Gillespie represented the United States by playing in the United States world tour. During his time in the Orchestra, Gillespie stood out to many people as the ambassador of Jazz. Gillespie wanted to expand his career in music so he moved to New York City. There, he played in small bands but soon found out that, “Teddy Hill needed an experienced trumpet player because the original trumpet player did not want to go on tour” (PBS). Going on this tour made Gillespie’s name stand out upon other famous musicians at the time. To widely brighten his career, Gillespie implemented his newly created version of Jazz, Bebop (PBS). This was a new style of playing Gillespie used while playing Jazz that many people really enjoyed at the time.
In the middle of his life, Gillespie designed the Bebop Revolution in Jazz music. Bebop was created when, “Gillespie was with Charlie Parker during his tour at after-hour late night jam sessions. While playing, Gillespie started playing random s...

... middle of paper ...

...t care much about music. What I like is sounds.” This goes to show why Gillespie earned everything he did.. The United Nations Orchestra, the Teddy Hill World Tour, and the design of Bebop all flows together and concludes Gillespie into one word, honorable. People may not know how a song got into their head, but they can thank John Birks Gillespie, one of music’s great pioneers.

Works Cited

"Dizzy Gillespie." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
“John Birks (1917-1993) Trumpeter, Composer, and Band leader.” PBS, n.d. Web. 23 March 2014.
Marshall, Marilyn. “Dizzy Gillespie.” 24 March 2014: 1. Student Research Center.
Boone, Mary. American Jazz Dizzy Gillespie. Mitchell Lane, 2013. Print.
“Dizzy Gillespie.” Contemporary Black Biography. Vol 1. Detroit: Gale, 1992. Biography in Context. Web. 30 March 2014.

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