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to Be or not to Bop: Memoirs- Dizzy Gillespie
One of the outstanding musicians of jazz and the founder of "bebop" tells the story of his rise through New York clubs to stardom and talks about the many people who have performed with him
552 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1979
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520 people want to read
About the author
Dizzy Gillespie
63 books8 followersJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. In the 1940s Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 29, 2013
This is a biography and autobiography in one. Stories are told by Dizzy and then retold from other famous jazz musicians points of view. It is wonderful to see how the same event is remembered differently! So this book is not just a one character biography. Anyone who studies jazz history must read this. To hear from the mouths of so many influential people is a cornucopia of insight.
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November 13, 2021Dizzy is fantastic. The stories, wisdom and music knowledge are beyond comparison.
February 9, 2008
Regarded as one of the best jazz autobiographies.
June 23, 2019
This is a must read for those who appreciate music, musicians, jazz, and history in general. Gillespie was a true original who almost singlehandedly invented the Jazz genre known as Bebop. He was a world ambassador for music, for the USA, and for basic human civil rights. Told through his voice as well as dozens of other musicians, family and friends, this thick tome is packed with fun stories and snapshots of the experience of being black in a divided, literally and figuratively, country. He sounds like a man we would all have been fortunate to meet.
January 27, 2023
Wish I had read this when I was younger... Charlie Parker stole the show then and now but this is a good book to read! Hearing the 52nd Street stories from a prime source and snippets from others around. Great stories. Wish the content on African influences was even more substantial at times, but a really good read indeed, massive book! Quite self-promoting which is enjoyable in this case.
May 30, 2023
What you learn about a jazz musicians' life through their own words is priceless. If you are looking to understand more of Dizzy Gillespie's life, or more about the bebop era, this book is worth the read.
November 6, 2020
What an amazing man! Such deep thoughts and insight. My only complaint is some parts got bogged down with technical musical details to which I couldn't relate.
October 7, 2024
why i read this book specifically out of every jazz autobiography is beyond me but i dug it
August 15, 2025
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! I came up on by happenstance. The great stories and revelations are one after another.
January 17, 2021
Needless to say that JB Gillespie was a major contributor to jazz history. Period.
Dizzy lived long enough to tell the story of bebop and its inceptions (not Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, etc) and this auto-(with Al Fraser) biography is a vehicle for reaffirming his role and, at the same time, claiming the status he thinks he deserves as a champion of modern music.
As in fact it seems he needed to assert it all in order not to be forgotten and, at the same time, show the world that the "jazz community" highly valued his contribution. That said, the writing (full of witnesses, from John Lewis to Kenny Barron, e.g.) sometimes gets boring, repetitive (some of the concepts are repeated two or three times, like "the drums were taken from slaves in Northern America but not in South"), shallow and too much of a laudatory thing. Pinched with anecdotes that don't really add up, honestly, it is hard to reach the 500 pages having read them all.
The book's structure and length is a metaphor of what happened with John Birk's life as an influential musician: having already become a celebrity in the revolutionary 40's, from the 50's on he got stuck on his business and musically speaking became irrelevant until the end of his days (minus the legendary status). A bunch of contemporary trumpeters (Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard) that were looking ahead of their time surpassed him in success and creativity and that is probably why Dizzy keeps referring to bebop and Charle Parker (the "good times") constantly. So, ironically, the first 60 pages are focused on Gillespie's youth (1917-1937) the following 240 are devoted to the period 1937-1947 (which is a great treat) and the remaining 200 (1947-1977) to "the rest of his life". It is those last 200 pages that are hard to chew, swallow and digest, except for the chapter "Evolutions" that contains a synthesis of what is stated before in regards of music evolution.
Periods of his life are ignored, certain characters are not mentioned (Howard McGhee?), the overall priority seems to be given to certain aspects of his personality and certain achievements more related to his post-humous glory than to music's glory.
Dizzy lived long enough to tell the story of bebop and its inceptions (not Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, etc) and this auto-(with Al Fraser) biography is a vehicle for reaffirming his role and, at the same time, claiming the status he thinks he deserves as a champion of modern music.
As in fact it seems he needed to assert it all in order not to be forgotten and, at the same time, show the world that the "jazz community" highly valued his contribution. That said, the writing (full of witnesses, from John Lewis to Kenny Barron, e.g.) sometimes gets boring, repetitive (some of the concepts are repeated two or three times, like "the drums were taken from slaves in Northern America but not in South"), shallow and too much of a laudatory thing. Pinched with anecdotes that don't really add up, honestly, it is hard to reach the 500 pages having read them all.
The book's structure and length is a metaphor of what happened with John Birk's life as an influential musician: having already become a celebrity in the revolutionary 40's, from the 50's on he got stuck on his business and musically speaking became irrelevant until the end of his days (minus the legendary status). A bunch of contemporary trumpeters (Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard) that were looking ahead of their time surpassed him in success and creativity and that is probably why Dizzy keeps referring to bebop and Charle Parker (the "good times") constantly. So, ironically, the first 60 pages are focused on Gillespie's youth (1917-1937) the following 240 are devoted to the period 1937-1947 (which is a great treat) and the remaining 200 (1947-1977) to "the rest of his life". It is those last 200 pages that are hard to chew, swallow and digest, except for the chapter "Evolutions" that contains a synthesis of what is stated before in regards of music evolution.
Periods of his life are ignored, certain characters are not mentioned (Howard McGhee?), the overall priority seems to be given to certain aspects of his personality and certain achievements more related to his post-humous glory than to music's glory.
September 27, 2015
This book needed an editor! Way too long.
But, many nuggets scattered here and there. He actually talks a little about the music theory (unlike Miles Davis' autobiography).
And he was a tough guy! He used his knife on several occasions to defend himself against white racists. And was clever and outspoken when confronting white power.
Always a goof ball, making inappropriate jokes, dancing like a nut on stage, falling off the stage on occasion.
He was a musician who along with Charlie Parker created modern jazz, the only person who could match Parker's wild speed on improv. A composer, a band leader, an inventor, and a top technician. Only Miles Davis has the same breath and Miles wasn't quite as technically proficient.
Dizzy was clean and did not fall into the trap of drug abuse like so many. He also seems like a genuinely nice person, and is reluctant to say anything too revealing which makes his bio less compelling than Davis' who dished right and left.
But, many nuggets scattered here and there. He actually talks a little about the music theory (unlike Miles Davis' autobiography).
And he was a tough guy! He used his knife on several occasions to defend himself against white racists. And was clever and outspoken when confronting white power.
Always a goof ball, making inappropriate jokes, dancing like a nut on stage, falling off the stage on occasion.
He was a musician who along with Charlie Parker created modern jazz, the only person who could match Parker's wild speed on improv. A composer, a band leader, an inventor, and a top technician. Only Miles Davis has the same breath and Miles wasn't quite as technically proficient.
Dizzy was clean and did not fall into the trap of drug abuse like so many. He also seems like a genuinely nice person, and is reluctant to say anything too revealing which makes his bio less compelling than Davis' who dished right and left.
October 4, 2022
Dizzy Gillespie's biography is a great read thus far. It is written (or ghost-written) in a plain, clear voice that collects vignettes from his early life and friends and family who knew him then. It helps paint him as a troublemaking boy who had the pep and pluck to play the trumpet. He was pretty ambitious as a young boy, already quite active musically, and socially.
February 1, 2013
Occasionally repetitive but very interesting biography with some really technical musical aspects. My favourite aspect of the book was the racism Dizzy and his band were subjected to throughout their heyday. Worth a read for any trumpet player or jazz fan.
September 9, 2008
This book is kinda boring, but has WONDERFUL interviews, photographic plates.
December 30, 2010
Dizzy rocks! This is an excellent tour of the birth of modern jazz (aka bebop)
July 15, 2012
One of my favorite all-time autobiographies. Dizzy has more good stories than there are musical notes in "Salt Peanuts".
May 12, 2015
Less educational about the jazz movement in general than Miles' book. But it did make me love the man, Dizzy. What a talented, generous and giving individual
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews