Dizzy Gillespie Watrous describes his performance style: Wynton Marsalis summed up Gillespie as a player and teacher: Gillespie's trademark trumpet featured a bell which bent upward at a 45-degree angle rather than pointing straight ahead as in the conventional design. According to Gillespie's autobiography, this was originally the result of accidental damage caused by the dancers Stump and Stumpy falling onto the instrument while it was on a trumpet stand on stage at Snookie's in Manhattan on January 6, 1953, during a birthday party for Gillespie's wife Lorraine. The constriction caused by the bending altered the tone of the instrument, and Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie suspecting that he would not play again. Each musician gave tribute to their friend, this great soul and innovator in the world of jazz." A longtime resident of Englewood, New Jersey he died of pancreatic cancer on January 6, 1993 at the age of 75 and was buried in Flushing Cemetery, Queens, New York City. Mike Longo delivered a eulogy at his funeral. He starred in a film called "The Winter in Lisbon" that was released in 2004. Gillespie has been described as the "sound of surprise". "The Rough Guide to Jazz" describes his musical style: In Gillespie's obituary, Peter