George Matthews (musician) Hawkins's group in the early 1950s. In the 1960s he played with Lucille Dixon and Clark Terry, among others. With Dizzy Gillespie George Matthews (musician) George Matthews (sometimes listed as Georges) (September 23, 1912 in Dominica, British West Indies – June 28, 1982 in New York City) was a jazz trombonist. Matthews's father was a guitarist; Matthews himself was adept on tuba and trumpet as well as trombone. He received classical training in New York City and played with local dance and jazz bands before joining Tiny Bradshaw's group in the early 1930s. He worked later in the 1930s with
Dizzy Gillespie of Racial Equality, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King, Jr.; in later years they became a collector's item. In 1971, he announced he would run again but withdrew before the election. Gillespie joined the Bahá'í religion in 1968. The universalist emphasis of his religion prodded him to see himself more as a global citizen and humanitarian, expanding on his interest in his African heritage. His spirituality brought out generosityand what author Nat Hentoff called an inner strength, discipline, and "soul force". Gillespie's conversion was most affected by Bill Sears' book "Thief in the Night". Gillespie spoke about the