Gillespie had established himself as a player in the big swing bands of Teddy Hill, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, and other; he later led a big band himself, where he experimented successfully with Afro-Cuban rhythms and percussion instruments. But he is best remembered for his work in small combos, where he and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker set new speed records for instrumental virtuosity and musical imagination. One of the most influential trumpeters in history, Gillespie is usually given chief credit, along with Parker, for developing the genre of bebop during the early 1940s.
In this chapter, Gillespie
challenges eleven popular myths about bebop, minimizing the importance
of fashions and drugs so that he can underscore the seriousness, artistry,
and creativity of the music. Without abandoning the sense of hilarity
that won him his nickname, he explains the music's complex social context,
where strategies for operating in a racist environment included searching
for African roots, converting to Islam, and taking great pride in African-American
heroes such as heavy-weight bosing champion Joe Louis or singer, actor,
and black activist Paul Robeson.
*Walser, Robert (ed.) Keeping time : readings in jazz history (New York : Oxford University Press) 1999.