What did Dizzy Gillespie contribute to jazz?
Gillespie joined the famous Harlem jam sessions that produced the wildly radical, urgent beat that came to be known as bebop. Polished and developed by Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, bebop got its name from Gillespie’s chanted intro to the songs: “Dee-ba-pa-‘n-bebop. …” Bebop gave jazz a deeper and more complex dimension, and Parker and Gillespie’s innovations continue to influence the development of jazz. He later was introduced to Cuban music, with its roots in the rhythms of Africa. Together with Cuban musicians like Charo Pozo, Gillespie was instrumental in developing the genre of Afro-Cuban jazz, which he worked to popularize up until his death.
A lot: He was a major contributor to the development of Bebop, he was instrumental in one of the first Latin waves in Jazz, and above all, he was one of the most personal, witty, and touching presences in Jazz music. His trumpet voice was unique and can be distinguished in almost all of his recordings.
