Dizzy Gillespie Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks, and his light-hearted personality provided some of bebop's most prominent symbols. In the 1940s Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became
The Jazz Temple The Jazz Temple The Jazz Temple was a coffeehouse/nightclub located in the University Circle area of Cleveland, Ohio. The club’s name was chosen by the owner, Winston E. Willis, to symbolize a devout gathering place dedicated to the icons of the jazz world where these artists would be collectively enjoyed and appreciated. During its brief history, with frequent headlining appearances by jazz greats such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cannonball Adderley among others, the popular nightspot was more successful than any other similar venue in the region. Opened in 1962, the Jazz Temple was the