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63-649: The CBS Studio Building is a seven-story office building at 49 East 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan , New York City. It has had various uses at different times, including serving as a Vanderbilt family guest house, the first graduate school of the Juilliard School , CBS Radio studios, and Columbia Records studio. It is currently owned by the Fisher Brothers , who converted it to an office building in conjunction with construction of

126-558: A Juilliard -trained pianist, at the jazz club Birdland in New York City. In the mid-1960s, Gillespie settled down in Englewood, New Jersey , with his wife. The local Englewood public high school, Dwight Morrow High School , named its auditorium after him: the 'Dizzy Gillespie Auditorium'. Gillespie has been described as the "sound of surprise". The Rough Guide to Jazz describes his musical style: The whole essence of

189-448: 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

252-539: A broad audience; recordings of it were released in 2005. He started to organize big bands in late 1945. Dizzy Gillespie and his Bebop Six, which included Parker, started an extended gig at Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles in December 1945. Reception was mixed and the band broke up. In February 1946 he signed a contract with Bluebird , gaining the distribution power of RCA for his music. He and his big band headlined

315-495: A case of 'mistaken identity' of who I might shoot." He was classified 4-F . In 1943, he joined the Earl Hines band. Composer Gunther Schuller said, ... In 1943 I heard the great Earl Hines band which had Bird in it and all those other great musicians. They were playing all the flatted fifth chords and all the modern harmonies and substitutions and Gillespie runs in the trumpet section work. Two years later I read that that

378-472: A crisis from what turned out to be pancreatic cancer . He performed one more night but cancelled the rest of the tour for medical reasons, ending his 56-year touring career. He led his last recording session on January 25, 1992. On November 26, 1992, Carnegie Hall , following the Second Baháʼí World Congress , celebrated Gillespie's 75th birthday concert and his offering to the celebration of

441-589: A few bands, most notably Ella Fitzgerald 's orchestra, composed of members of the Chick Webb 's band. Gillespie did not serve in World War II . At his Selective Service interview, he told the local board, "in this stage of my life here in the United States whose foot has been in my ass?" and "So if you put me out there with a gun in my hand and tell me to shoot at the enemy, I'm liable to create

504-482: A gift from Jon Faddis ). Gillespie favored mouthpieces made by Al Cass . In December 1986 Gillespie gave the National Museum of American History his 1972 King "Silver Flair" trumpet with a Cass mouthpiece. In April 1995, Gillespie's Martin trumpet was auctioned at Christie's in New York City with instruments used by Coleman Hawkins , Jimi Hendrix , and Elvis Presley . An image of Gillespie's trumpet

567-789: A jazz cruise to Havana. Sandoval toured with Gillespie and defected in Rome in 1990 while touring with Gillespie and the United Nations Orchestra . In the 1980s, Gillespie led the United Nations Orchestra. For three years Flora Purim toured with the Orchestra. She credits Gillespie with improving her understanding of jazz. In 1982, he was sought out by Motown musician Stevie Wonder to play his solo in Wonder's 1982 hit single, " Do I Do ". He starred in

630-707: A jazz musician. He won a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina which he attended for two years before accompanying his family when they moved to Philadelphia in 1935. Gillespie's first professional job was with the Frank Fairfax Orchestra in 1935, after which he joined the respective orchestras of Edgar Hayes and later Teddy Hill , replacing Frankie Newton as second trumpet in May 1937. Teddy Hill's band

693-483: A joke but proceeds went to Congress of Racial Equality , Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr. ; in later years they became a collector's item. In 1971, he announced he would run again but withdrew before the election . Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker, Gillespie encountered an audience member after a show. They had a conversation about the oneness of humanity and

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756-524: A party for his wife Lorraine at Snookie's, a club in Manhattan, where his trumpet's bell got bent upward in an accident, but he liked the sound so much he had a special trumpet made with a 45-degree raised bell, a customization that would become his trademark. In 1956 Gillespie organized a band to go on a State Department tour of the Middle East which was well-received internationally and earned him

819-699: A symbol of the new music. His big bands of the late 1940s also featured Cuban rumberos Chano Pozo and Sabu Martinez , sparking interest in Afro-Cuban jazz. He appeared frequently as a soloist with Norman Granz 's Jazz at the Philharmonic . Gillespie and his Bee Bop Orchestra was the featured star of the 4th Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. on September 12, 1948. The young maestro had recently returned from Europe where his music rocked

882-750: A year, then left and freelanced with other bands. In 1939, with the help of Willis, Gillespie joined Cab Calloway 's orchestra. He recorded one of his earliest compositions, "Pickin' the Cabbage", with Calloway in 1940. After an altercation between the two, Calloway fired Gillespie in late 1941. The incident is recounted by Gillespie and Calloway's band members Milt Hinton and Jonah Jones in Jean Bach 's 1997 film, The Spitball Story . Calloway disapproved of Gillespie's mischievous humor and his adventuresome approach to soloing. According to Jones, Calloway referred to it as "Chinese music". During rehearsal, someone in

945-673: Is a list of notable places within one block of 52nd Street. The section between Eleventh and Tenth Avenues is signed "Joe Hovarth Way" in tribute to Joseph Hovarth (1945–1995) who located the Police Athletic League William J. Duncan Center on the block after moving from its original location. The Duncan Center is named for a patrolman who was shot while chasing a stolen car in the neighborhood on May 17, 1930. The block between First Avenue and FDR has been subject of an attempt to designate it as its own neighborhood. In W. H. Auden 's poem " September 1, 1939 ", about

1008-809: Is based on traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. Gillespie was introduced to Chano Pozo in 1947 by Mario Bauza , a Latin jazz trumpet player. Chano Pozo became Gillespie's conga drummer for his band. Gillespie also worked with Mario Bauza in New York jazz clubs on 52nd Street and several famous dance clubs such as the Palladium and the Apollo Theater in Harlem . They played together in the Chick Webb band and Cab Calloway's band, where Gillespie and Bauza became lifelong friends. Gillespie helped develop and mature

1071-418: Is formally co-named "Swing Street" and one block west is called " W. C. Handys Place". The 21 Club was the sole surviving club on 52nd Street that also existed during the 1940s. It closed in 2020. The venue for the original Birdland at 1674 Broadway (between 52nd & 53rd), which came into existence in 1949, is now a strip club. The current Birdland is on 44th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. This

1134-414: Is on his album Sea Is a Lady . The Twilight Zone , episode 32, " A Passage for Trumpet ", refers to the jazz clubs of 52nd Street. Van Morrison 's 1972 song " Saint Dominic's Preview " includes the lyrics "And meanwhile we're over on a 52nd Street apartment/Socializing with the wino few". Daniel Okrent invented Rotisserie League Baseball, a form of fantasy baseball , in 1979. The name comes from

1197-630: The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Duke Ellington Award for 50 years of achievement as a composer, performer, and bandleader. In 1989, Gillespie was awarded with an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music . In 1991, Gillespie received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Wynton Marsalis . In 1993 he received

1260-879: The Polar Music Prize in Sweden. In 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame for his contributions to Afro-Cuban music. He was honored on December 31, 2006 in 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, Gillespie was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame . Samuel E. Wright played Dizzy Gillespie in

1323-557: The Second World War , Auden narrates himself as being on 52nd Street. A 1948 amateur recording of Charlie Parker at the Onyx Club , Bird on 52nd St. , was released by Jazz Workshop in 1957. Billy Joel has a studio album titled 52nd Street . The songs, including the hit single " Honesty ", have a jazz flavoring not found on his other albums. Toshiki Kadomatsu wrote a song titled "52nd Street 'Akiko ' ", which

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1386-476: The 1940s, Gillespie, with Charlie Parker , became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis , Jon Faddis , Fats Navarro , Clifford Brown , Arturo Sandoval , Lee Morgan , Chuck Mangione , and balladeer Johnny Hartman . He pioneered Afro-Cuban jazz and won several Grammy Awards. Scott Yanow wrote: "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of

1449-499: The 1946 film Jivin' in Be-Bop . After his work with Parker, Gillespie led other small combos (including ones with Milt Jackson , John Coltrane , Lalo Schifrin , Ray Brown , Kenny Clarke , James Moody , J. J. Johnson , and Yusef Lateef ) and put together his successful big bands starting in 1947. He and his big bands, with arrangements provided by Tadd Dameron , Gil Fuller , and George Russell , popularized bebop and made him

1512-569: The 45-story Park Avenue Plaza to its east. It was built in 1908 as a guest house for the Vanderbilts who had a home a block away at Fifth Avenue and 52nd. It was designed by Warren and Wetmore . In 1924 the Vanderbilts sold it to the Juilliard Musical Foundation where it became Juilliard's first graduate school. In 1939, CBS , which had its corporate headquarters around the corner at 485 Madison Avenue, bought

1575-573: The Afro-Cuban jazz style. Afro-Cuban jazz was considered bebop-oriented, and some musicians classified it as a modern style. Afro-Cuban jazz was successful because it never decreased in popularity and it always attracted people to dance. Gillespie's most famous contributions to Afro-Cuban music are "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo" (both co-written with Chano Pozo); he was responsible for commissioning George Russell 's "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop", which featured Pozo. In 1977, Gillespie met Arturo Sandoval during

1638-815: The White House would be renamed the Blues House, and he would have a cabinet composed of Duke Ellington (Secretary of State), Miles Davis (Director of the CIA), Max Roach (Secretary of Defense), Charles Mingus (Secretary of Peace), Ray Charles (Librarian of Congress), Louis Armstrong (Secretary of Agriculture), Mary Lou Williams (Ambassador to the Vatican), Thelonious Monk (Travelling Ambassador) and Malcolm X (Attorney General). He said his running mate would be Phyllis Diller . Campaign buttons had been manufactured years before by Gillespie's booking agency as

1701-546: The band threw a spitball. Already in a foul mood, Calloway blamed Gillespie, who refused to take the blame. Gillespie stabbed Calloway in the leg with a knife. Calloway had minor cuts on the thigh and wrist. After the two were separated, Calloway fired Gillespie. A few days later, Gillespie tried to apologize to Calloway, but he was dismissed. During his time in Calloway's band, Gillespie started writing big band music for Woody Herman and Jimmy Dorsey . He then freelanced with

1764-419: The bebop era like Charlie Parker , Thelonious Monk , Bud Powell , Kenny Clarke , Oscar Pettiford , and Gillespie. Through these musicians, a new vocabulary of musical phrases was created. With Parker, Gillespie jammed at famous jazz clubs like Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House . Parker's system also held methods of adding chords to existing chord progressions and implying additional chords within

1827-657: The building and had his main office there. With the advent of television, large radio studios that could accommodate audiences were no longer needed. Radio operations moved to the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street. By 1966 the facility had become recording studios for Columbia Records . Frank Sinatra , Barbra Streisand , Leonard Cohen , Laura Nyro , Bob Dylan (in spring 1970 for part of his New Morning album), Paul Simon , Paul McCartney and Mahavishnu Orchestra ( Birds Of Fire ) recorded music there. The facility contained Columbia's "Studio B" on

1890-490: The building at 49 East 52nd Street, to move its radio operations, except for the main network newsroom. Architects Fellheimer & Wagner extensively renovated the building—including eliminating the earlier Vanderbilt ornate external features and eliminating windows for soundproofing—and carved up the building into seven studios, including one which could accommodate audiences of 300 as well as symphony orchestras that could broadcast. Arthur Godfrey broadcast from Studio 21 in

1953-539: The centenary of the passing of Baháʼu'lláh . Gillespie was to appear at Carnegie Hall for the 33rd time. The line-up included Jon Faddis , James Moody , Paquito D'Rivera , and the Mike Longo Trio with Ben Brown on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. Gillespie was too unwell to attend. "But the musicians played their real hearts out for him, no doubt suspecting that he would not play again. Each musician gave tribute to their friend, this great soul and innovator in

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2016-418: The continent. The program description noted "the musicianship, inventive technique, and daring of this young man has created a new style, which can be defined as off the chord solo gymnastics." Also on the program that day were Frankie Laine , Little Miss Cornshucks , The Sweethearts of Rhythm , The Honeydrippers , Big Joe Turner , Jimmy Witherspoon , The Blenders, and The Sensations. In 1948, Gillespie

2079-423: The conventional design. According to Gillespie's autobiography, this was originally the result of accidental damage caused by the dancers Stump and Stumpy falling onto the instrument while it was on a trumpet stand on stage at Snookie's in Manhattan on January 6, 1953, during a birthday party for Gillespie's wife Lorraine. The constriction caused by the bending altered the tone of the instrument, and Gillespie liked

2142-479: The early evening played for themselves on 52nd Street. In the period from 1930 through the early 1950s, 52nd Street clubs hosted such jazz musicians as Louis Prima , Art Tatum , Fats Waller , Billie Holiday , Trummy Young , Harry Gibson , Nat Jaffe , Dizzy Gillespie , Thelonious Monk , Charlie Parker , Miles Davis , Marian McPartland , and many more. Although musicians from all schools performed there, after Minton's Playhouse in uptown Harlem , 52nd Street

2205-532: The effect. He had the trumpet straightened out the next day, but he could not forget the tone. Gillespie sent a request to Martin to make him a "bent" trumpet from a sketch produced by Lorraine, and from that time forward played a trumpet with an upturned bell. By June 1954 he was using a professionally manufactured horn of this design, and it was to become a trademark for the rest of his life. Such trumpets were made for him by Martin (from 1954), King Musical Instruments (from 1972) and Renold Schilke (from 1982,

2268-542: The elimination of racism from the perspective of the Baháʼí Faith . Impacted by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, he became a Baháʼí that same year. The universalist emphasis of his religion prodded him to see himself more as a global citizen and humanitarian, expanding on his interest in his African heritage. His spirituality brought out generosity and what author Nat Hentoff called an inner strength, discipline, and "soul force". Gillespie's conversion

2331-596: The film The Winter in Lisbon that was released as El invierno en Lisboa in 1992 and re-released in 2004. The soundtrack album, featuring him, was recorded in 1990 and released in 1991. The film is a crime drama about a jazz pianist who falls for a dangerous woman while in Portugal with an American expatriate's jazz band. In December 1991, during an engagement at Kimball's East in Emeryville, California, he suffered

2394-474: 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". The youngest of nine children of Lottie and James Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie

2457-459: The improvised lines. Gillespie compositions like " Groovin' High ", " Woody 'n' You ", and " Salt Peanuts " sounded radically different, harmonically and rhythmically, from the swing music popular at the time. " A Night in Tunisia ", written in 1942, while he was playing with Earl Hines's band, is noted for having a feature that is common in today's music: a syncopated bass line. "Woody 'n' You"

2520-428: The name of the restaurant, La Rôtisserie Française restaurant on New York City's East 52nd Street, where he first suggested the idea to his friends. Notes 40°45′27″N 73°58′15″W  /  40.75750°N 73.97083°W  / 40.75750; -73.97083 Dizzy Gillespie John Birks " Dizzy " Gillespie ( / ɡ ɪ ˈ l ɛ s p i / gil- ESP -ee ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993)

2583-673: The nickname "the Ambassador of Jazz". During this time, he also continued to lead a big band that performed throughout the United States and featured musicians including Pee Wee Moore and others. This band recorded a live album at the 1957 Newport jazz festival that featured Mary Lou Williams as a guest artist on piano. In the late 1940s, Gillespie was involved in the movement called Afro-Cuban music , bringing Afro-Latin American music and elements to greater prominence in jazz and even pop music, particularly salsa . Afro-Cuban jazz

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2646-407: The repeal of Prohibition in 1933, 52nd Street replaced 133rd Street as "Swing Street" of the city. The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues became renowned for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life. The street was convenient to musicians playing on Broadway and the 'legitimate' nightclubs and was also the site of a CBS studio. Musicians who played for others in

2709-600: The same year as the Cuban Missile Crisis , it uses audio from an improvised conversation between the two debating the causes of accidents and the possibility of accidentally launching nuclear weapons . The short went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the following year. During the 1964 United States presidential campaign , Gillespie put himself forward as an independent write-in candidate . He promised that if he were elected,

2772-585: The second floor and "Studio E" on the sixth floor. From 1974 until 1982, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre was recorded in Studio 27, renamed Studio G in honor of Arthur Godfrey . In 1979 the Fisher Brothers acquired the land under the building in conjunction with construction of the Park Avenue Plaza building to its east. However, CBS retained ownership of the building itself. In 1988 the building

2835-474: The significance of rhythm there and all about how music can transport people spiritually." In Gillespie's obituary, Peter Watrous describes his performance style: 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

2898-479: The street which were transmitted across the country. By the late 1940s, the jazz scene began moving elsewhere around the city and urban renewal began to take hold of the street. By the 1960s, most of the legendary clubs were razed or fell into disrepair. The last jazz club there closed in 1968, though one remains as a restaurant. Today, the street is full of banks, shops, and department stores and shows little trace of its jazz history. The block from 5th to 6th Avenues

2961-401: The trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and drums. Dizzy recommended Fats Navarro for the job with Eckstine, who proved to be an ample replacement. Bebop was known as the first modern jazz style. However, it was unpopular in the beginning and was not viewed as positively as swing music was. Bebop was seen as an outgrowth of swing, not a revolution. Swing introduced a diversity of new musicians in

3024-587: The world of jazz." A longtime resident of Englewood , New Jersey, Gillespie died of pancreatic cancer on January 6, 1993, at the age of 75 and was buried in Flushing Cemetery , Queens, New York City. His grave is unmarked. Mike Longo (who was present the night of Gillespie's death) delivered a eulogy at his funeral. In 1962, Gillespie and actor George Mathews starred in The Hole , an animated short film by John and Faith Hubley . Released

3087-470: Was 'bop' and the beginning of modern jazz ... but the band never made recordings. Gillespie said of the Hines band, "[p]eople talk about the Hines band being 'the incubator of bop' and the leading exponents of that music ended up in the Hines band. But people also have the erroneous impression that the music was new. It was not. The music evolved from what went before. It was the same basic music. The difference

3150-527: Was an American jazz trumpeter , bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser , building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop . His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, scat singing , bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon. In

3213-448: Was as much a pure entertainer as an accomplished artist. Wynton Marsalis summarized Gillespie as a player and teacher: 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

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3276-466: Was born in Cheraw, South Carolina . His father was a local bandleader, so instruments were made available to the children. Gillespie started to play the piano at the age of four. Gillespie's father died when he was only ten years old. He taught himself how to play the trombone as well as the trumpet by the age of twelve. From the night he heard his idol, Roy Eldridge , on the radio, he dreamed of becoming

3339-442: 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

3402-439: Was in how you got from here to here to here ... naturally each age has got its own shit." Gillespie joined the big band of Hines's long-time collaborator Billy Eckstine , and it was as a member of Eckstine's band that he was reunited with Charlie Parker , a fellow member. In 1944, Gillespie left Eckstine's band because he wanted to play with a small combo. A "small combo" typically comprised no more than five musicians, playing

3465-452: Was involved in a traffic accident when the bicycle he was riding was bumped by an automobile. He was slightly injured and found that he could no longer hit the B-flat above high C. He won the case, but the jury awarded him only $ 1000 in view of his high earnings up to that point. In 1951, Gillespie founded his record label, Dee Gee Records ; it closed in 1953. On January 6, 1953, he threw

3528-419: Was leased to Sony, which had purchased CBS Records, and a Duane Reade store opened on the ground level and second floor. For several years CBS used studio space as offices. CBS eventually sold the building to Fisher Brothers in 1993, and in 1996 Fisher Brothers undid the 1930s Art Moderne style, replacing the windows and replicating the original Vanderbilt appearance. 52nd Street (Manhattan) Following

3591-575: Was most affected by Bill Sears ' book Thief in the Night . Gillespie spoke about the Baháʼí Faith frequently on his trips abroad. He is honored with weekly jazz sessions at the New York Baháʼí Center in the memorial auditorium. A concert in honor of his 75th birthday was held in New York City's Carnegie Hall, 26 November 1992, in conjunction with the second Baha'i world congress, however, he

3654-525: Was recorded in a session led by Coleman Hawkins with Gillespie as a featured sideman on February 16, 1944 ( Apollo ), the first formal recording of bebop. He appeared in recordings by the Billy Eckstine band and started recording prolifically as a leader and sideman in early 1945. He was not content to let bebop sit in a niche of small groups in small clubs. A concert by one of his small groups in New York's Town Hall on June 22, 1945, presented bebop to

3717-665: Was selected for the cover of the auction program. The battered instrument was sold to Manhattan builder Jeffery Brown for $ 63,000, the proceeds benefiting jazz musicians with cancer. In 1989, Gillespie was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . The next year, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ceremonies celebrating the centennial of American jazz, Gillespie received the Kennedy Center Honors Award and

3780-441: 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's trademark trumpet featured a bell which bent upward at a 45-degree angle rather than pointing straight ahead as in

3843-419: Was the second most important place for the dissemination of bebop . In fact, a tune called " 52nd Street Theme " by Thelonious Monk became a bebop anthem and jazz standard. Virtually every great jazz player and singer of the era performed at clubs: 52nd Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues 52nd Street, between 5th & 6th Avenues Disc jockey Symphony Sid frequently did live broadcasts from

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3906-506: Was too ill to personally attend. Gillespie married dancer Lorraine Willis in Boston on May 9, 1940. They remained together until his death in 1993; Lorraine converted to Catholicism with Mary Lou Williams in 1957. Lorraine managed his business and personal affairs. The couple had no children, but Gillespie fathered a daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson , born in 1958 from an affair with songwriter Connie Bryson. Gillespie met Bryson,

3969-482: Was where Gillespie made his first recording, "King Porter Stomp". In August 1937 while gigging with Hayes in Washington D.C., Gillespie met a young dancer named Lorraine Willis who worked a Baltimore–Philadelphia–New York City circuit which included the Apollo Theater . Willis was not immediately friendly but Gillespie was attracted anyway. The two married on May 9, 1940. Gillespie stayed with Teddy Hill's band for

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