To Be or Not to Bop To Be or Not to Bop To Be or Not to Bop: Memoirs of Dizzy Gillespie is a 1979 book written by jazz musician, composer and band leader Dizzy Gillespie. The book was released in July 1979 by Doubleday. The University of Minnesota Press re-released the book in 2009. He is known for being the father of bebop. This book tells about his life, and what he went through to make this music flourish. The book introduces Dizzy and his friends like Charlie "Bird" Parker as they struggled to make money by playing. Later on it tells of how Dizzy
John Garcia Gensel named full-time Minister to the Jazz Community; initially Jazz vespers were held at various locations including Central Synagogue. In 1968, jazz ministry had become fully established in Saint Peter's Lutheran Church, on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Jazz musicians including Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Billy Strayhorn attended and played regularly at Jazz vespers. In 1975 Documentary Educational Resources published a portrait of Rev. Gensel which was filmed over the course of 5 years; the documentary records Duke Ellington's last concert and funeral. At Saint Peter's Lutheran Church Rev. Gensel also founded