**John Birks** "**Dizzy**" **Gillespie** (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/; 21 Oktober 1917 – 6 Januarie 1993) was 'n Amerikaanse trompetspeler van jazzmusiek. Hy was ook 'n komponis en sanger. Hy was 'n virtuoos in sy veld en briljant met improvisasie. Sodoende het hy gebou op die virtuose styl van Roy Eldridge maar met die byvoeging van lae harmonie en ritmiese kompleksiteit van 'n virtuositeit wat voorheen ongehoord was in jazzmusiek. Sy kombinasie van musikaliteit, skouspelagtigheid, intelligensie en vaardigheid het hom een van die voorste proponente van die nuwe musiekstyl wat weldra bekend sou staan as *bebop* gemaak. Sy beret, sy opgepofte wange en sy lighartige persoonlikheid het een van bebop se mees prominente simbole geword. 

Hy het in die 1940's saam met Charlie Parker een van die voorste figure in die ontwikkeling van bebop en moderne jazz geword. Hy het onderrig gegee aan, en verskeie musici beïnvloed, soos o.a. die trompetspelers en jazz-ikone Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, en Johnny Hartman.

Scott Yanow het soos volg oor Gillespie geskryf, *"Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up being similar to those of Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated [....] Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time"*.

Kunstenaarskap
--------------

### Styl

Gillespie is al beskryf as die "sound of surprise". *The Rough Guide to Jazz* beskryf sy musikale styl (in Engels):

> The whole essence of a Gillespie solo was cliff-hanging suspense: the phrases and the angle of the approach were perpetually varied, breakneck runs were followed by pauses, by huge interval leaps, by long, immensely high notes, by slurs and smears and bluesy phrases; he always took listeners by surprise, always shocking them with a new thought. His lightning reflexes and superb ear meant his instrumental execution matched his thoughts in its power and speed. And he was concerned at all times with swing—even taking the most daring liberties with pulse or beat, his phrases never failed to swing. Gillespie's magnificent sense of time and emotional intensity of his playing came from childhood roots. His parents were Methodists, but as a boy he used to sneak off every Sunday to the uninhibited Sanctified Church. He said later, "The Sanctified Church had deep significance for me musically. I first learned the significance of rhythm there and all about how music can transport people spiritually."
> 

In Gillespie se sterfkennis word sy styl soos volg beskryf deur Peter Watrous (in Engels):

> In the naturally effervescent Mr. Gillespie, opposites existed. His playing—and he performed constantly until nearly the end of his life—was meteoric, full of virtuosic invention and deadly serious. But with his endlessly funny asides, his huge variety of facial expressions and his natural comic gifts, he was as much a pure entertainer as an accomplished artist.
> 

Wynton Marsalis het Gillespie soos volg opgesom as speler en onderwyser (in Engels):

> His playing showcases the importance of intelligence. His rhythmic sophistication was unequaled. He was a master of harmony—and fascinated with studying it. He took in all the music of his youth—from Roy Eldridge to Duke Ellington—and developed a unique style built on complex rhythm and harmony balanced by wit. Gillespie was so quick-minded, he could create an endless flow of ideas at unusually fast tempo. Nobody had ever even considered playing a trumpet that way, let alone had actually tried. All the musicians respected him because, in addition to outplaying everyone, he knew so much and was so generous with that knowledge...
> 

Gillespie met sy trompet in 1988.

Pryse en eerbewyse
------------------

Standbeeld van Gillespie in sy tuisdorp van Cheraw, Suid-Carolina 
In 1989 het Gillespie die *Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award* ontvang. Die volgende jaar het hy tydens die seremonies wat by die Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts gehou is om die tweehonderdste herdenking van Amerikaanse jazz te vier die Kennedy Center Honors-prys en die American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers *Duke Ellington Award* ontvang vir 50 jaar se prestasies as komponis en uitvoerder.

In 1989 het Gillespie 'n eredoktorsgraad in musiek ontvang van die Berklee College of Music.

In 1993 het hy die Polar musiekprys in Swede gewen. Op 31 Desember 2006 is daar eerbewyse aan hom gebring tydens die program *A Jazz New Year's Eve: Freddy Cole & the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts*. In 2014 is Gillespie ingelyf in die New Jersey Hall of Fame.

In populêre kultuur
-------------------

Samuel E. Wright het die karakter van Dizzy Gillespie in die rolprent *Bird* (1988) wat oor Charlie Parker handel vertolk. Kevin Hanchard het die rol van Gillespie vertolk in die film oor Chet Baker getiteld *Born to Be Blue* (2015). Charles S. Dutton het Gillespie gespeel in *For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story* (2000).

Lys van werke
-------------

*Die hoofartikel vir hierdie afdeling is: Lys van werke deur Dizzy Gillespie.*