Dizzy Gillespie 1947. He and his big bands, with arrangements provided by Tadd Dameron, Gil Fuller, and George Russell, popularized bebop and made him a symbol of the new music. His big bands of the late 1940s also featured Cuban "rumberos" Chano Pozo and Sabu Martinez, sparking interest in Afro-Cuban jazz. He appeared frequently as a soloist with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. In 1948, Gillespie was involved in a traffic accident when the bicycle he was riding was bumped by an automobile. He was slightly injured and found that he could no longer hit the B-flat above high C. He
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