John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (1917 –1993) was a U.S. jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer. Gillespie, with Charlie Parker (Bird), was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz He was also instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban jazz. Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser. In addition to his instrumental skills, Dizzy's beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn and pouched cheeks, and his light-hearted personality endeared many to what was regarded as threatening and frightening music.

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