Dizzy Gillespie

Jan 1 1964 Not Rated 0h 51m
Documentary, Music

This is Les Blank’s earliest music film, focusing on the renown trumpet player, Dizzy Gillespie, who along with Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and others sparked the change from traditional Jazz to “Bebop” in mid-1940s America. The film includes rare images of Gillespie playing on his famous bent horn and talking about his beginnings, as well as his theories about music.

Plot

Recorded at a time when Diz was fronting his fabled post-war big band featuring jazz greats such as pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson or bassist Ray Brown, this concert film catches the irrepressible trumpeter in top artistic form. In a format that was typical of the day, dancing acts and singers such as Helen Humes or Kenny 'Pancho' Hagood were featured alongside the headlining Gillespie Orchestra. More than fifty years have passed, but watching Diz and his men enthusiastically attack bop classics such as Salt Peanuts, Shaw 'Nuff or Things To Come still makes for wonderful viewing. All clips have been selected from the 1947 ling feature Jivin' In Be-Bop.

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Les Blank

Cast

Dizzy Gillespie

Crew

View crew

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
87
Average Rating
6.9 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA