Dizzy Gillespie
Addthis Share Tools
Object Details
- Artist
- Yousuf Karsh, 23 Dec 1908 - 13 Jul 2002
- Sitter
- Dizzy Gillespie, 21 Oct 1917 - 6 Jan 1993
- Exhibition Label
- Born Cheraw, South Carolina
- Jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie first gained fame in the early 1940s, but his talent and staying power were such that he was still a dynamic presence on the music scene six decades later. Gillespie was barely out of his teens when he joined Cab Calloway’s legendary big band in 1939, yet the maturity of his playing was already undeniable. His solos enlivened many of Calloway’s recordings, and Gillespie’s innovative arrangements laid the groundwork for his future experiments in rhythm and composition. After meeting jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker in Kansas City in 1940, Gillespie joined Parker, pianist Thelonious Monk, and other young musicians in freewheeling jam sessions that spawned a new, energetic form of jazz known as bebop. Emerging rapidly as one of bebop’s greatest practitioners, Gillespie also played a pivotal role in introducing Afro-Cuban jazz to worldwide audiences. He toured extensively and was hailed as modern jazz’s most ebullient ambassador.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh
- 1990
- Object number
- NPG.2012.77.35
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © Estate of Yousuf Karsh
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 27.9 × 21.5 cm (11 × 8 7/16")
- Sheet: 35.4 × 27.6 cm (13 15/16 × 10 7/8")
- Mount: 35.5 × 27.9 cm (14 × 11")
- Mat: 55.9 × 40.6 cm (22 × 16")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Music\Musical instrument\Trumpet
- Dizzy Gillespie: Male
- Dizzy Gillespie: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz
- Dizzy Gillespie: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Horn\Trumpet
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2012.77.35
- Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4fec48cc9-d2cd-41f1-b20d-25d75ae145a4
Related Content
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.