Superstition Jazz Orchestra – A Dizzy Gillespie 100th Birthday Celebration at The Nash

7:30-10:00pm; The Superstition Jazz Orchestra directed by Mike Crotty with special guests, percussionist Joe Garcia and singer, Deater O’Neill. No name blazes more brightly in the firmament of jazz than that of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie. An American trumpet virtuoso and improviser, composer and bandleader, Gillespie, in tandem with Charlie Parker and musicians like Thelonius Monk, revolutionized jazz in the 1940s through the development of bebop. He brought Latin influences from Cuban to Brazilian into the jazz mainstream. His trademark bent horn, scat singing, pouched cheeks and light­ hearted personality combined to popularize jazz around the world...

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7:30-10:00pm; The Superstition Jazz Orchestra directed by Mike Crotty with special guests, percussionist Joe Garcia and singer, Deater O’Neill. No name blazes more brightly in the firmament of jazz than that of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie. An American trumpet virtuoso and improviser, composer and bandleader, Gillespie, in tandem with Charlie Parker and musicians like Thelonius Monk, revolutionized jazz in the 1940s through the development of bebop. He brought Latin influences from Cuban to Brazilian into the jazz mainstream. His trademark bent horn, scat singing, pouched cheeks and light­ hearted personality combined to popularize jazz around the world. A consummate teacher and leader, there is no one more beloved in jazz than Dizzy Gillespie. In the 1980s, while performing in Washington, DC, Gillespie met composer, arranger, bandleader and multi-instr ument alist , Mike Crotty. Numerous times, he showed up at Crotty’s 1 8-piece Sunday Morning Jazz Band rehearsals to hang out, listen to music and tell stories. Gillespie hired Crotty to write arrangements for his United Nation Band and later on for his recording, “Dizzy Gillespie-The Symphony Sessions”. So, it is with great joy that Crotty created special arrangements of Dizzy’s music for this 100th anniversary celebration. Don’t miss this evening of great music and stories! Superstition Jazz Orchestra, based at Phoenix College and under the direction of Milas Yoes, is a group of professional and community jazz musicians.

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