To Be or Not to Bop became a great trumpeter and even the origin of his signature bent trumpet. Various compositions and albums have been named after Gillespie's book title. 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
Dizzy Digs Paris "As a whole, the two-CD set might not be a major entry in the Gillespie discography, but it's a good one. And it's certainly hard to imagine a more complete package of this 1953 Salle Pleyel concert, complemented as it is by studio material recorded by the same musicians at the same time and place". "All compositions by Dizzy Gillespie except as indicated" Disc One: Disc Two: Recorded on February 9, 1953 at the Salle Pleyel (Disc One and Disc Two, track 1) and on February 22, 1953 at the Studio Pathe Magellan (Disc Two, tracks 2-17) and February 27,