Archive of photographs, ephemera, memorabilia, etc., relating to the life and career of Dizzy Gillespie by Gillespie, Dizzy - 1993

1993. A rich collection of photographs, autographs, personal records, LPs and ephemera from the personal collection of bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, which amply records the trumpter's outsized personality and his importance as a global jazz ambassador. Includes Dizzy's own collection of mostly larger format photographs of other musicians and entertainers, many early and rare; hundreds of large format, special portraits of Dizzy, both publicity stills, informal shots, and portraits by notable photographers, as well as many early photographs of Dizzy and friends; over 2,500 color snapshots of Dizzy, musicians, friends, family, and places Dizzy visited; scrapbooks of Dizzy's Middle East Tour of 1956, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, as well as family photograph albums, scrapbooks abnd agenda books; autographs, inscribed LPs, and collections related to friends Chuck Mangione, Jim Henson, Paul Robeson and others.

General summary of the collection:

I. BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS
Dizzy's own collection of (mostly) larger format photographs of other musicians and entertainers, many early and rare, including:
-Art Blakey. Andrews, Bert, photographer. Portrait photograph of Blakey playing the drums. 14 x 11 inches, New York, 1984.
-Don Byas. Portrait of Byas, 14 x 9 cm (5-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches), N.p.: "Radio Vedette", [ca. 1950]. inscribed to Dizzy.: "...Thanx for everything. I'm glad to know that there are still musicians who know how to blow and swing. I love you."
-Kenny Clarke. 12 x 9-1/4 inches, 1984.
-John Collins . Mahieu, Ted, photographer. 10 x 8 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1949].
-Miles Davis. Stewart, Charles, photographer. Photo of Davis group performing on stage (c. 1970?), signed by Stewart. Mounted to board
-Roy Eldridge . 10 x 9 inches, [New York]: n.d. [ca. 1945] "My boyhood idol ..." Reproduced in To Be Or Not To Bop, (New York, Doubleday, 1979), p. 59.
-Earl ("Fatha") Hines. Portrait of Hines standing on sidewalk, beneath theater marquee announcing his appearance. [ca. 1960?]
-Four Tops. Publicity photo of the group by James Kriegsmann, inscribed on the back to Dizzy by lead singer Levi Stubbs, "To Dizzy the greatest that Ever did it. Its my pleasure just to know you Your bro, Levi (Stubbs) 4 Tops."
-Lena Horne and Hazel Scott. Early photo of the two, inscribed by both to Dizzy. 13 x 10 inches.
-J.J. Johnson. Stewart, Charles, photographer, Large portrait of Johnon, ca. 1970(?), mounted to board and signed by Stewart.
-Osie Johnson. Stewart, Charles, photographer. Portrait of Johnson seated before his drums in a recording studio, chin in hand ("Chuck Stewart NYC") lower right. 14 x 11 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1955?].
-Gene Krupa. Stewart, Charles, photographer. Large portrait photograph of the drummer in jacket and cap. Approximately 14 x 11 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1955].
-Gene Krupa. Werkmeister, Josef, photographer. Portrait of Krupa, shot from below through the trap set. 15-1/4 x 11-3/8 inches, 1984.
-Melba Liston. Portrait photograph of Liston seated in the orchestra, holding her trombone. Publicity still for the Dizzy Gillespie Band. 10 x 8 inches, [New York?]: Shaw Artists Corporation, n.d. [ca. 1949].
-Carmen McRae. Stewart, Charles, photographer. Half-length, low-angle shot portrait of McRae, singing into a microphone. Signed "Chuck Stewart". 14 x 11 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1945].
-Max Roach. Stewart, Charles, photographer. Portrait of Roach seated at his drums, chin in hand. Bust portrait, in profile. 14 x 11 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1950?].
-Eddie South. Photograph of violinist Eddie South, with young Dizzy and another at table at Nightclub. 10 x 8 inches. Inscribed "To John: Truly one of the greatest artists I know. Best always, Eddie South."
-Sarah Vaughan. Large portrait photograph of Sarah Vaughan in studio, with Billy Eckstine in background. 14 x 11 inches, [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1957?]. Mounted to board.
-Ben Webster. Portrait of Webster, standing with another musician. Half length in profile. 14 x 11 inches, [New York]: n.d. [ca. 1949].

II. PHOTOS OF DIZZY (AND OTHERS)
The collection includes hundreds of large format, special portraits of Dizzy, both publicity stills, informal shots, and portraits by notable photographers, as well as many early photographs of Dizzy and friends. Of special interest:
-An early black and white photograph of Dizzy playing with CHARLIE PARKER and MAX ROACH ca. 1945 (?), performing before a circle of admirers (including soldiers and sailors.
-Photo of Dizzy and Charlie Parker standing together, Bird in suspenders holding a cigarette, Diz with his head thrown back, laughing.
-4 superb portraits of Dizzy by Carl van Vechten, 1955.
-2 superb portraits of Dizzy and Lorraine seated together on a sofa (1950?), Diz with a musical ms on his lap
-Portrait of Dizzy with Carmen McCrae in 1976, signed and inscribed ("with love") by the photographer Jim Marshall
-Large unattributed photo of Dizzy seated on a sofa in the 50s, used in his autobiography To Be Or Not To Bop (Doubleday, 1979)
-Photograph of Dizzy dancing and clowning, horn in hand, with other musicians in studio. Jerry Stoll Associates, nd [1960s]. "Artist's Proof-printed for Dizzy."
-Photograph of Dizzy, Joe Williams & Jon Hendricks, singing together. Jerry Stoll Associates, nd [1960s]. "Artist's Proof-printed for Dizzy."
-Photograph of Lorraine Gillespie as a Chorus Girl in Small's Paradise, 1942, with 7 other chorus girls, each identified by Lorraine in green ink, [New York: 1942]. Inscribed to her mother.
-Portrait of Lorraine, shortly after their marriage, inscribed to her husband Dizzy Gillespie. 9-3/4 x 7-7/8 inches, [Boston?, ca. 1940]. Reproduced in To Be Or Not To Bop (New York, Doubleday, 1979), p. 50
-Portrait of Dizzy by James J. Kriegsmann, N.Y, inscribed to his mother, "To Mom. Love and kisses, your son, 'Dizz.'"
-Portrait of Dizzy by photographer Martin Cohen. Portrait of Dizzy Gillespie seated with trumpet at the congos, 16-3/4 x 14-3/4 inches, 1984. Mounted to artist's board, which bears the photographer's stamp on the verso. Among the finest portraits of the great jazz trumpeter are those by photographer Martin Cohen, who was himself a Latin percussionist.
-Portrait of Dizzy on stage by photographer Ron Hudson; in Honolulu, 1984, captioned "N.B.C. Concert Hall, Honolulu, Hawaii 1984." Signed beneath the image by Ron Hudson.
-Portrait of Dizzy blowing his horn by Karl Gabor, photographer, signed ("Kurt Gabor '83") 11-3/4 x 8 inches, Stockholm, 1983
-Photograph of Dizzy flanked by NELSON MANDELA shortly after his release from prison, and HAGE GEINGOB, first Prime Minister of the newly independent republic of Namibia. 8 x 10 inches, Namibia, 1990
-Group of 6 photographs of Dizzy Gillespie receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Carolina. 3 inscribed to Dizzy in the lower margin by Jim Alderman. Each 6-5/8 x 8-7/8 inches, Columbia, S.C.: May 17, 1980
-17 photographs of Dizzy with various celebrities, including large format shots of Dizzy with Angela Davis and Oprah Winfrey, and Dizzy on stage at Birdland with Dinah Washington.
-Large black-and-white photograph of Dizzy (a passionate chess player) playing chess with an unidentified opponent, c. 1970

III. COLOR SNAPSHOTS
Over 2,500 color snapshots of Dizzy, musicians, friends, family, and places Dizzy visited. An inveterate photographer himself, most of the snapshots which do not included him were taken by himself. Some highlights:
Polaroid of Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy and another playing dominoes; snapshot of his wife Lorraine at beach; Dizzy on tour and performing in France, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Cuba, the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, Australia; birthday celebrations (with many other musicians); James Moody's wedding (at which Dizzy was best man); shots of Dizzy with Bahai members, etc. Shots of other musicians include Sonny Rollins, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Gerry Mulligan, James Moody, Kenny Barron, Lionel Hampton, (and many other awaiting identification); as well as snaps of Dizzy with other celebrities.

IV. NOTABLE SCRAPBOOKS
-Middle East Tour. Three Scrapbooks of the Middle East Tour of 1956, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, under the Eisenhower administration. Paper over boards. Gillespie's own record of the ground-breaking tour to India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. These 3 albums, assembled by Dizzy himself, document this important tour with well over 300 photographs (many inscribed) as well as printed ephemera (programs, invitations, receptions, etc.). The countries visited include Pakistan (Karachi), Iran (Abadan); Lebanon (Beirut), Syria (Damascus), Turkey (Anakara, Istanbul), and Greece (Athens). To mention only a few of the highlights from the albums: photos of Melba Liston and Quincy Jones in Abadan; an invitation to Dizzy to attend "An Appreciation from the White House Correspondences Association," SIGNED BY PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER; a telegram from Edward R. Murrow to Dizzy and Lorraine, looking forward to their appearance on Murrow's famous show "Person to Person"; innumerable snapshots of Dizzy with children, with local musicians, in the streets and in the market places as well as with dignitaries and notables from each country visited; photos of Dizzy in Beirut, Karachi, Abadan (with Princess Shams Pahlavi, the Shah's elder Sister), and Damascus; a photo of Melba Liston, Dizzy & Cole Porter in Athens; brochure for a Concert given at the Abadan Refinery giving a history of the refinery; concert program for the Taj Theatre Performance in Abadan in English and Farsi; another brochure advertising a concert "In the Gracious presence of Her Imperial Highness Princess Shams Pahlavi"; and much more.
-Family Album: photos of Dizzy, his family and friends, assembled by his wife, Lorraine Gillespie. Approximately 65 informal snapshots in color and black and white, lovingly assembled by Dizzy's wife Lorraine. Dizzy with friends, musicians, and relatives in informal settings: at home with friends and family, at work, relaxing on vacation, sitting at outdoor cafés, on the beach, in restaurants, in the back yard, etc.
-Dizzy Gillespie Scrapbook formed by Lorraine, with photos, newspaper clippings, publicity stills, and manuscripts, ephemera, etc. Containing 56 publicity stills, 2 manuscripts, several programs, newspaper clippings, one typed letter. A remarkable memorial formed by his wife Lorraine, whom Dizzy first met in 1937.

V. NOTABLE AUTOGRAPHS
-Autograph Musical fragment of several bars, entitled "Notes to Myself"
-Autograph Manuscript signed ("Diz") of the lyrics to his song "I Waited for You"
-Typed Letter signed from Dizzy to his wife Lorraine. 8vo, May 10, 1960. "If I were to live a thousand years more in the future with you; spend twenty-four hours a day just catering to your every whim, it would be just a speck of your true worth"
-Postcard from Dizzy to his wife, Lorraine, from Italy, depicting the Crucifix which spoke to St. Francis of Assisi in St. Damiano. 6 x 4 inches, July 7, 1976. "Hi Sugar: / I was there and it is indescribable, I lit a candle for you. It's just beautiful. I want to bring you here one day. / I love you very much, / Dizzy."
-Typed Letter signed from Art Farmer to Lorraine Gillespie: "I am writing to extend my condolences to you and your family on your great loss. Although I knew Dizzy had been very sick for some time, it's still very hard to realize that he won't be seen or heard again on this earth. He was known to the world as a man that changed the history of music, but I had the good fortune to have known him well enough to have regarded him as a friend ... He was not only a very great musician, but a good and kind man ... With deepest sympathy / Yours sincerely / [sgd]Art Farmer"
-Approximately 100 cards and postcards to Lorraine and Dizzy Gillespie. Including birthday greetings to Diz, condolence card to Lorraine, holiday greetings from friends and family, etc. A touching group of cards from all over the world to the Gillespies, mostly to Lorraine after Dizzy's death, but including a card from the Bill Cosby family, the Oscar Peterson family, et al.
-Remarkable collection of Dizzy's Appointment / Address books for the years 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, heavily annotated by Dizzy, with his travel schedule, schedule of concerts, personal appearances, interviews, TV appearances, jottings, notes, etc.; with phone numbers, names, addresses , etc., of friends and acquaintances from all over the world. Personal names include David Amram, Maurice André, Arthur Ashe, George Avakian, Babatunde, Kenny Barron, Harry Belafonte, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Ray Brown, Benny Carter, Carmen McCrae, Larry Coryell, Ray Charles, Willis Conover, Walter Davis, Buddy DeFranco, Billy Eckstine, Herb Ellis, Art Farmer, Leonard Feather, Roberta Flack, Tommy Flanagan, Aretha Franklin, Bud Freeman, James Galway, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Alex Haley, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Hartman, Eddie Harris, Jon Hendrix, Al Hirt, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson,. Illinois Jacquet, J.J. Johnson, Elvin Jones, Hank Jones, Quincy Jones, Roger Kellaway, B.B. King, Michel Legrand, Mel Lewis, Ramsey Lewis, Teo Macero, Branford and Wynton Marsalis, James Moody, Dan Morgenstern, Flora Purim, Oscar Peterson, Wilson Pickett, Adam Powell , Richard Pryor, Tito Puente, Max Roach, Annie Ross, Smokey Robinson, Sonny Rollins, Willy Ruff, Mongo Santamaria, Bobby Scott, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra ("213-251-4665"), Buddy Tate, Grady Tate, Clark Terry, Toots Thielsman, Mel Torme, Cedar Walton, George Wein, Joe Williams, Paul Winter, Gerald Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Phil Woods, et. al.; and the occasional celebrity personal friend and friend of jazz, e..g, Bill Cosby and Clint Eastwood. An important archive of the travel and performance activities of the indefatigable Dizzy, in the final two decades, of his performing career
-Group of 9 Christmas, birthday, and anniversary cards from Dizzy Gillespie to his wife, Lorraine, together with a Mailgram wishing her a happy forty-fifth anniversary. Largest 14 x 12 inches, some in original envelopes, largest in box.

VI. RECORD ALBUMS (INSCRIBED TO DIZZY)
Granz, Norman, producer. Jazz at the Philharmonic Vol. 3. 78 rpm vinyl "Long playing microgroove" recording. 25 cm. (9-3/4/ inches) diameter, [Los Angleles]: Clef Records, 1950s. In the original album sleeve, with front cover drawings after David Stone Martin, verso inscribed by Lester Young's daughter Beverly, to Dizzy Gillespie. "From: Beverly Young 'To Dizzy - ' Happy Birthday '88 & a million more. My love to you. - Beverly Young & [with an arrow pointing to the picture of Lester Young] DAD" A rare recording, and an unusually poignant association between two the jazz giants, Lester Young (1909-1959) and John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie' (1917-1993)
-Lewis, John. P.O.V. 33 rpm vinyl recording, New York: Columbia Records, 1975. In the original album, INSCRIBED on the upper cover from John Lewis to DIZZY GILLESPIE. A wonderful association between two jazz pioneers of the bop revolution, friends from 1946. Lewis joined Dizzy's band as pianist after Monk left, and later, with the rhythm section of that band (Kenny Clarke and Ray Brown) formed the Modern Jazz Quartet.
-Also: Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo; Gian Carlo Menotti, Ivana Themmen, and the Louisville Orchestra; Louie Bellson's Don't Stop Now!; Bob Cunningham's Walking Bass; Cuartets Caracas' Musica Tepica de Venezuela; Bucky Adams and Basin Street at Privateers' Warehouse; two copies of Boulou with the Paris All Stars; together with an album of 78 rpm records of the original Dixieland Jazz Band.

VI. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

-(BILL COSBY) A group of Bill Cosby-Dizzy Gillespie related memorabilia, comprising a handwritten note on Camille O. Cosby's personalized card: "Dear swimming partner, Enjoy! Love Camille," with attached note card and handwritten note: "I just found out my wife sent you flowers...if you want the other side cut on, keep fooling with my wife! Love, Bill Cosby"; an autographed picture of Bill and Dizzy inscribed "To Dizzy, Love Bill"; a picture of Bill, Dizzy, and Charlie "The Whale" Lake; a picture of Bill, Camille, and Dizzy; a large photo of Bill; and four VHS tapes of Bill Cosby
-(CHUCK MANGIONE) A group of Chuck Mangione-Dizzy Gillespie related memorabilia. Comprising a get well card to Dizzy from Chuck Mangione, with handwritten note "Hey Diz, Hope you feel so good real soon, Love CM ... Feels So Good [hand drawn staff with notes]"; several record albums, two signed (one by Chuck Mangione and the other by Frank "Papa" Mangione); an invitation to Frank and Nancy Mangione's 50th wedding anniversary; a Chuck Mangione pin
-(THE MUPPETS) Finch, Christopher. The Making of The Muppet Show of Muppets and Men. New York: Henson Associates, 1981, Alfred A. Knopf Inc, inscribed "To Dizzy, With Love, Christmas 1981, Kermit the Frog, Jim and Dave and All the Gang" (signed in green); together with a Bendy "Kermit the Frog, Henson Associates Inc. 1956, 1977" hand-painted puppet, made in England 14"h; a Bendy Miss Piggy Henson Associates Inc., 1976, 1978, hand-painted puppet, made in England, 16"h; three cards signed "Jim, David and all the Muppet people"; eight photographs (one with Dizzy and James Moody); a Muppet Show guide to London; a red binder with "Dizzy Gillespie" in gilt letters housing the script for the Muppet Show #85, two VHS tapes, one of Dizzy and the Muppets, the other of Dizzy and Sesame Street; a poster of Dizzy and Moody on a cruise ship, the poster inscribed "To Moody-Margena much love cousins John"
-(PAUL ROBESON) Typed Note Signed to Dizzy, thanking him for "helping to make possible the notable 'SALUTE' ... in celebration of my 75th Birthday ...";
a box set of four 33 rpm records entitled "PAUL ROBESON" (EMI, 1977), warmly inscribed on the inside front cover from Paul's graddaughter Susan Robeson ("To John Birks and Lorraine with love and affection for always"); a copy of Susan Robeson's pictorial biography of Robeson THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS (1981). Over 3,000 people packed Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 75th birthday of Paul Robeson and establish a Paul Robeson Archive in the US. Participants included Dizzy Gillespie, Odetta, Leon Bibb, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte (who also produced the show), James Earl Jones, Zero Mostel, Roscoe Lee Browne, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Coretta Scott King and many others. Robeson sent this card to Gillespie in gratitude; and several years later Robeson's grandaughter Susan, filmmaker and producer, presented the box set to Dizzy and his wife Lorraine with the warm inscription quoted above. Robeson was a figure of enormous significance to Gillespie, who wrote in TO BE OR NOT... TO BOP (New York: Doubleday, 1979 ): "Paul Robeson was the gate to Martin Luther King"

VII. MISCELLANEOUS
-Jones, Dexter, sculptor. Bronze relief portrait of Dizzy. Full-length profile, inscribed (in relief) "John Birks Gillespie by his friend and admirer Dexter Jones". 31-1/2 (height) x 20 inches (width). [Philadelphia: ca. 1950]. Dexter Jones (1926-1986), friend of Dizzy through their mutual friend, lawyer Charlie Roisman ("Professor Bogus"). Jones was an accomplished sculptor of portraits and works in the round. He also created several outstanding bas-reliefs in his lifetime, such as this notable portrait of the great jazz trumpeter, whose bust portrait Jones also sculpted in 1949. Dizzy described him thus in his autobiography: "Dexter Jones is a bad dude, and I've known him since he was a kid. He used to work with the sculptor Jo Davidson, and when Jo Davidson sculpted a bust, Dexter did the eyes, ears, nose - the details. Dexter works on his own now, and he's a magnificent sculptor"
-THE SAVOY STORY. Oblong 4to, New York: 1951. First edition. Spiral bound black and red cover. Dizzy's copy.
-TWO POSTERS FOR THE INTERNATIONALES JAZZ FESTIVAL; In Bern, Germany, May 6-10, 1992, one signed by a number of musicians to Dizzy, together with a letter telling Dizzy about the concert and wishing him a full recovery, poster 36 1/4"w x 50 1/2"h. Signed by Slide Hampton, Marion McPartland, and... "Hey Diz-I love you-(James) Moody...Thanks for my first job!" "To Dizzy-with much love from Dollie & I-without you-I wouldn't exist. Get well soon. Love, Jackie McLean." "To Dizzy, Don't worry about a thing/ You is still the King/" from Freddie Hubbard "We miss you." Harry "Sweets" Edison.