Groovin' High: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie

by Alyn Shipton

Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most important and best-loved musicians in jazz history. With his horn-rimmed glasses, goatee, jive talk, and upraised trumpet bell, he was the hipster who most personified bebop. The musical heir to Louis Armstrong, he created the modern jazz trumpet-playing
style and dazzled aficionados and popular audiences alike for over 50 years.

In this first full biography, Alyn Shipton covers all aspects of Dizzy's remarkable life and career, taking us through his days as a flashy trumpet player in the swing bands of the 1930s, his innovative bebop work in the 1940s, the worldwide fame and adoration he earned through his big band tours
in the 1950s, and the many recordings and performances which defined a career that extended into the early 1990s. Along the way, Shipton convincingly argues that Gillespie--rather than Charlie Parker as is widely believed--had the greatest role in creating bebop, playing in key jazz groups, teaching
the music to others, and helping to develop the first original bebop repertory. Shipton also explores the dark side of Dizzy's mostly sunny personal life, his womanizing, the illegitimate daughter he fathered and supported--now a respected jazz singer in her own right--and his sometimes needless
cruelty to others.

For anyone interested in jazz and one of its most innovative and appealing figures, Groovin' High is essential reading.

Genres: Music, Biography, Jazz, Biography Memoir

432 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 1999

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this book, I didn't know that much about Jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie.

And after reading it, I still don't know that much.

Groovin High isn't really a biography of Dizzy's life. Its a biography of Dizzy's music. I learn a lot about Dizzy's effect on Jazz and how he crafted his music. This book delves deep into the Jazz scene of the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's. Dizzy along with Louis Armstrong really set the blueprint for what we know as jazz.

But Dizzy the man, is still mystery. Out of a 400 page book, only about 40 pages were dedicated to his marriage which lasted I believe 30- 40 years. I learned more about his musical relationship with Charlie Parker than his actual wife.

I guess one could say that since Jazz was his life, any biography about Dizzy would mostly be about music. But I still would have liked to know more about the non musical parts of his life.

I would still recommend Groovin High to music lovers but just remember that this is a biography of Dizzy the musician not Dizzy the man.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched and fairly clear-eyed biography of an important jazz innovator. Shipton is very detailed about Gillespie's formative years and the 1940s, when the trumpeter was a leader in the development of modern jazz. The sections on Gillespie's later years feel a little perfunctory, but to be fair, Gillespie was no longer on the cutting edge of jazz by that point. All in all, an excellent musical biography.

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Release date notwithstanding, this book feels like the work of an extremely dedicated blogger, rather than a more academic undertaking. Sharpton goes through great efforts to detail every influence, known and conjectured, Dizzy would have heard growing up, as well as almost every recording he was in prior to the late 40s. The author then covers the final 40 years of Dizzy’s life in substantially fewer pages than the years between 1935-1950, a decision clearly influenced by his own biases. Indeed, the author makes no attempt to stay objective whatsoever, freely sprinkling his judgement on a given solo or record to an irritating degree. Still, my experience reading was mostly positive, and I greatly enjoyed the many anecdotes shared from interviews conducted during the writing of the book.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shipton has thoroughly altered my perception of Gillespie. I had thought of Diz (as me and his other pals call him) primarily as a soloist. Here I learned that his greatest efforts throughout most of his long career were toward becoming and remaining a band leader. In quite a few different iterations of that role, Gillespie managed to exert significant influence on the art of music in the era of bebop. A couple of additional facets of his story I learned had to do with his occasional episodes of downright meanness (not what one usually thinks of in a man often remembered for his levity), and his eventual letting go of a career-long standard of innovation. This book is full of fascinating detail, and a worthy addition to Gillespie's legacy.

[Adam Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comes off more as a musical discography at times than a full biography, but worthwhile and enlightening. There is the undercurrent that there is a course correction where Dizzy deserves more of the credit that went to Parker, which is fair enough, but it is kind of odd that the book doesn't even mention Parker's death or Dizzy's reaction to it.

[Kimberlie Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writer is suspect. Work seems very objective to me. I am more interested in an account written by Dizzy himself. I do not recommend.