Dizzy Gillespie in 1990 at the 32nd Monterey Jazz Festival, California

© Craig Lovell/Eagle Visions Photography/Alam

Black History Month

Born in New Orleans around the turn of the 20th century, with a sound that came from the blues, ragtime, and call-and-response vocals, jazz music is a notable chapter in Black history. You can almost hear John 'Dizzy' Gillespie playing his signature bent trumpet, featured on our homepage today. Gillespie made his name in bebop, often called the first modern form of jazz, playing alongside other greats including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk. Black musicians created genres like rock and roll, funk, hip-hop, and soul, the soundtrack to American culture and Black history.