Fifty years after helping found a new style of progressive jazz that came to be known as bebop, Dizzy Gillespie's (1917-1993) music is still a major contributing factor to the development of modern jazz.

As a trumpet virtuoso Gillespie stands firmly as a major influence in the development of the jazz trumpet. His band was a virtual training ground for younger musicians. In 1990 he led and wrote the arrangements for a group that included bassist John Lee, guitarist Ed Cherry, drummer Ignacio Berroa, conga drummer Paul Hawkins, and saxophonist Ron Holloway. More than 40 years earlier Gillespie was the first bandleader to use a conga player. Employing Latin rhythms and forging an Afro-Cuban style of polyrhythmic music was one of Gillespie's many contributions to the development of modern jazz.

Before Gillespie there was New Orleans musician Buddy Bolden--the earliest known jazz cornetist--who was followed by King Oliver, Louis Armstrong...