Summary: John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was the man who first made Bebop a vogue. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the most important and best-loved musicians in jazz history. He was to continue playing with the unusually shaped trumpet until the end of his career. In the mid-50s he embarked upon a collaboration with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic and he also began a long series of recording dates for Granz in which he teamed up with a rich mixture of musicians. He became well known for various activities outside music such as the work he did for the United Nations and many campaigns as a civil rights activist.