Photographs/Professional Life

The Photographs series (16 Hollinger boxes) offers a comprehensive documentation of the professional and personal life of Dizzy Gillespie. The series is divided into three sub-series: Professional Life, Personal Life, and Photo Albums. The collection spans from the 1930s to the early 2000s, with the major portion dating from the 1950s to the 1990s. In certain instances, the dating has been approximated by the archivist based on the information available concerning Gillespie’s life and activities. Except for the Photo Albums sub-series, where the photographs from the albums have been kept together, the photographs have been organized into folders according to their respective topics. The Professional Life sub-series features photographs related to Dizzy Gillespie’s musical career, collectively highlighting the professional accomplishments and highlights of Gillespie’s musical journey. Among others, this sub-series contains photographs captured during his international tours, promotional photoshoots, on-stage and backstage moments, and photographs from official ceremonies and awards. The Personal Life sub-series contains photographs of the musician’s family and friends, as well as photographs taken on vacations and personal outings. Many of the photographs were taken by Dizzy Gillespie himself. The Photo Albums sub-series comprises albums complied by the composer or his family members. (Julia Khait)