 Softcover edition | |
| Authors | Dizzy Gillespie Al Fraser |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Music autobiographies |
| Published | July 1979 |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 552 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-0385120524 |
To Be or Not to Bop: Memoirs of Dizzy Gillespie is a 1979 book written by jazz musician, composer and band leader Dizzy Gillespie. [1] [2] The book was released in July 1979 by Doubleday. The University of Minnesota Press re-released the book in 2009.
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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 introduces Dizzy and his friends like Charlie "Bird" Parker as they struggled to make money by playing. Later on it tells of how Dizzy 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.
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic 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, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon.
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".
"I Remember Clifford" is an instrumental jazz threnody written by jazz tenor saxophonist Benny Golson in memory of Clifford Brown, the influential and highly regarded jazz trumpeter who died in an auto accident at the age of 25. Brown and Golson had done a stint in Lionel Hampton's band together. The original recording was by Donald Byrd in January 1957.
"A Night in Tunisia" is a musical composition written by American trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie around 1940–1942. He wrote it while he was playing with the Benny Carter band. It has become a jazz standard. It is also known as "Interlude", and with lyrics by Raymond Leveen was recorded by Sarah Vaughan in 1944.
Poncho Sánchez is an American conguero, Latin jazz band leader, and salsa singer. In 2000, he and his ensemble won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for their work on the Concord Picante album Latin Soul. Sanchez has performed with artists including Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaría, Hugh Masekela, Clare Fischer, and Tower of Power.
South African jazz is the jazz of South Africa.
"Salt Peanuts" is a bebop tune reportedly composed by Dizzy Gillespie in 1942, credited "with the collaboration of" drummer Kenny Clarke. It is also cited as Charlie Parker's. The original lyrics have no exophoric meaning. Instead, they are a skat/bebop vocal which matches the octave note interval played predominantly throughout the song. The Pointer Sisters subsequently included vocalese lyrics for their rendition of Salt Peanuts as recorded on their That's a Plenty album.
Jivin' in Be-Bop is a 1947 musical film produced by William D. Alexander and starring Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra, which included notable musicians such as bassist Ray Brown, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and pianist John Lewis. It also features singers Helen Humes and Kenny "Pancho" Hagood, Master of Ceremonies Freddie Carter, and a group of dancers.
"Manteca" is one of the earliest foundational tunes of Afro-Cuban jazz. Co-written by Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and Gil Fuller in 1947, it is among the most famous of Gillespie's recordings and is "one of the most important records ever made in the United States", according to Gary Giddins of The Village Voice. "Manteca" is the first tune rhythmically based on the clave to become a jazz standard.
Victor "Vic" Coulsen was an American jazz trumpeter.
The Bop Session is an album by jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, John Lewis, Hank Jones, Percy Heath and Max Roach recorded in 1975 and released on the Swedish Sonet label.
The Cab Calloway Orchestra, based at the exclusive Cotton Club in Harlem, was, for more than a decade, one of the most important jazz bands in America. Different lineups featured the best available established musicians.
Home Is Where the Music Is is a 1972 jazz and Afrobeat double LP by Hugh Masekela issued by the joint American label Chisa/Blue Thumb Records. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
West Coast Jazz is a 1955 album by Stan Getz accompanied by a quartet including trumpeter Conte Candoli. Getz recorded the album in California, where he was filming parts for The Benny Goodman Story, and appearing for a week at the nightclub Zardi's Jazzland. The musicians that accompanied him at Zardi's were chosen by Getz to make this album with him.
Trumpet Africaine: The New Beat from South Africa is the debut studio record (LP) by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in August 1962 via Mercury Records. The album was released whilst Masekela was still in school.
The Americanization of Ooga Booga is a live album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. MGM released the record in June 1966.
Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa is the thirteen studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela released via Chisa Records label in May 1971. The album was re-released on CD in 1994 on MoJazz label.
Colonial Man is the eighteenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York and Chicago and released on LP and eight-track cassette on 30 January 1976 via the Casablanca Records label. The album's title song "Colonial Man", "Vasco Da Gama" and "Cecil Rhodes" express African anti-colonial sentiments. At the time of its release, it was referred to variously by reviewers as a concept album and a protest album.
Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela is an autobiography book by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was released on May 11, 2004 by Crown Archetype. The book was written together with D. Michael Cheers. In this book, Masekela tells a story of his forty-year career in the world of African jazz and his travels from South Africa to New York, then to Jamaica, and then back to his homeland. The book is complemented by the album of the same name.