Dizzy Gillespie Gillespie favored mouthpieces made by Al Cass. In December 1986 Gillespie gave the National Museum of American History his 1972 King "Silver Flair" trumpet with a Cass mouthpiece. In April 1995, Gillespie's Martin trumpet was auctioned at Christie's in New York City with instruments used by Coleman Hawkins, Jimi Hendrix, and Elvis Presley. An image of Gillespie's trumpet was selected for the cover of the auction program. The battered instrument was sold to Manhattan builder Jeffery Brown for $63,000, the proceeds benefiting jazz musicians with cancer. He was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The next year, at the Kennedy
The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad and the Jazz Ambassadors program during the Cold War era, when Jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck went on global tours on behalf of the State Department. In addition to performing for foreign audiences, musicians who participate in this program lead workshops and classes to educate locals in their instrument. The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad is a $1.5 million per annum cultural exchange program for musicians sponsored in part by the United States State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This program is in partnership with Jazz