Dizzy

by Jonah Winter Narrated by Kevin R. Free

Overview

An acclaimed biographer for children, Jonah Winter brings historical figures to life for young listeners. Here he turns his talents to jazz legend John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. Born into poverty and the victim of vicious parental abuses, Dizzy received a trumpet one day and it changed his life forever. Dizzy follows Gillespie's journey from rural South Carolina to New York City-straight into the burgeoning jazz scene he soon immersed himself in. "... a delightful story that introduces readers to an influential and unique American musician."-School Library Journal, starred review

Editorial Reviews

For Dizzy Gillespie, the great jazz trumpeter, "the very thing that had gotten him into trouble so much-being a clown, breaking all the rules-had become the thing that made him great." Teeming with originality and style, Qualls's creamy paint, pencil and collage illustrations convey the dogged individualism of the creator of bebop. Fine storytelling makes Gillespie's life not just approachable, but inspirational to children, as they watch him evolve from a poor, small, beaten child into a strong-minded man who, despite naysayers, pushed American music in a completely new direction. (Ages 6 to 8)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2006

Publishers Weekly

Winter (Frida) adds a winning volume to the burgeoning array of picture books about jazz giants. Written in up-tempo, occasionally rhyming free verse, the narrative trips off the tongue as it sketches Dizzy Gillespie's early sufferings: his father beat him and other kids mocked his small size. The horn became his escape valve: "with every blow/ he got from his dad,/ he blew his trumpet that much more/ until he was roaring./ He was soaring./ He was the best musician/ in his little southern town-/ soon that got boring." Winter follows Dizzy from Philadelphia (where his onstage clowning earned him his nickname) to New York, where his career took off. Readers need not know anything about the man's music to appreciate the character at the center of this verse, which nimbly sketches his rise from swing band sideman to one of cool jazz's supreme innovators: " `Bebop.'/ That's what Dizzy called/ this crazy kind of jazz/ that he had invented just/ by having the courage to be himself." Qualls's (The Baby on the Way) expressionistic acrylics, in a palette of cool grays, blues and chalk white, bloom with the blaring hot red and pink streams of sound emanating from Dizzy's horn. The artist gets the cheeks and the jazz patch just right, along with the postures of various cats onstage. And the author plays softly on the theme that one can convert a flaw (as a boy, Dizzy was famous for breaking rules) into a strength. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-8-Through a powerful marriage of rhythmic text and hip and surprising illustrations, the unorthodox creator of Bebop comes to life. Beaten regularly by his father, the young Gillespie found escape in a trumpet given to him by his music teacher. "For the boy with the horn/fueled with a FIRE/that burned with every whooping,/JAZZ was like a fire extinguisher./It was cooooooool." He went on to become a crowd-pleasing performer, loving jazz because it "...was like breaking the rules,/like inventing new rules." Later, in New York, he began playing his own music. He called it Bebop: "It was like he had taken a wrecking ball/and SMASHED IN/The House of Jazz,/till the walls came tumbling down-." Winter's lively writing pops with energy and begs to be read aloud. Qualls's acrylic, collage, and pencil illustrations swing across the large pages with unique, jazzy rhythms, varying type sizes and colors, and playful perspectives, perfectly complementing the text. This is a book that has a message: "-the very thing that had gotten him into trouble/so much-/being a clown, breaking all the rules-/had become the thing that made him great-." But most important, it is a delightful story that introduces readers to an influential and unique American musician.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The syncopated rhythms of bebop form the backbeat to this introduction to Dizzy Gillespie. Winter sets his stage with a firm delineation of young Gillespie's character: A little boy who was the target of bullies and the victim of an abusive father found an outlet with the trumpet, and turned himself into a clown. The narrative focuses on Gillespie's own emotional and artistic journey, celebrating his desire to take risks "until the very thing that had gotten him into trouble / so much- / being a clown, breaking all the rules- / had become the thing that made him great, / . . . . " The text breaks into ecstatic scat while the illustrations move from representational art to abstract depictions of the jagged sounds of jazz. Qualls's acrylic-and-collage images employ a muted palette of pinks and blues and beiges, and compositions vary from scenes of daily life to poster-like montages, effectively establishing Gillespie as larger than life. The narrative culminates in a priceless image of Dizzy "shov[ing] the angel Gabriel out of the way / and show[ing] him how to play / Bebop." "OOP BOP SH'BAM!" (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)

APR/MAY 08 - AudioFile

Kevin Free's swinging rendition of DIZZY will have listeners tapping their feet. The book recounts the story of jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie with broad, poetic strokes well suited to young listeners. From Dizzy's violent youth to his early love of music and his big band days, Winter's text celebrates the spirit of this musical pioneer. Narrator Free trumpets the musical triumphs and the personal challenges of Dizzy's quirky life. Using loud bell tones to portray Dizzy's joy as a trumpet player and snazzy snapping verse to describe his original compositions, Free delivers a cascading recitation. It’s a great shame that this recording doesn’t include any jazz music, a finishing touch that would be the frosting on this delicious presentation. C.A. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170224944
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/15/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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