Dizzie Gillespie
Day 48
#22 – John Birks ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie (1917–1993). American jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader and occasional singer. Recordings include: Night in Tunisia (1942), Salt Peanuts (1945) and the album Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods (with Machito, 1975).
Gillespie is one of the greatest trumpeters of all time. And with his amazing puffed-out cheeks and his trademark trumpet which bent upwards at a 45 degree angle, his performances were memorable. As his angled trumpet was so unique I had this in the back of my mind as I started sketching. When writing out his name, the letters fell into a shape that looked vaguely like a man so I used that as my starting point. But what typeface? I played around with quite a few and the bolder ones worked better in looking like a figure. It was only when I took a break and started thinking about each one that I realised ‘Gill’ was staring me in the face. Perfect. The type, angled at the top to suggest the end of the trumpet, finished it off.
4 hours
Listen...
to excerpts from the album ‘Night in Tunisia’