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Reading Texts
 

"The Cult of Bebop"
 
 
 

ISSUES:

JAZZ

CULTURE

RACE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

HOME
 

Reading Texts
 

"The Cult of Bebop"
 
 
 

ISSUES:

JAZZ

CULTURE

RACE

Authority

Autobiography
History & Memory

    1. Autobiography


    Autobiography is useful to challenge the dominant view of history.  In this chapter, Dizzy is responding to the stereotyped perception of the Bebop culture.  This ability of Autobiography to challenge rests  largely with the authority and integrity of personal experience. 
     

[Q]   How did Dizzy relate his personal experiences and those of his associates to a wider scene?

[Q]   Did he imply that these experiences show the truth of the situation?

  1. History & Memory
"The Cult of Bebop" is a site where memory and history come together.  Gillespie used personal memory to speak for a musical genre and culture.
[Q]   How did Dizzy use  'we' throughout the chapter?
 
Gillespie clearly had a sense of historical consciousness.  He offered an interpretation of his own memory.  This seems part of an attempt to create order and meaning from the experiences.   This effect has been discussed in History and memory in African-American culture. 
[Q]   How are issues of History and Memory  influenced by the fact that Dizzy Gillespie was a prominent and recognised musician?