Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 14 years and 6 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Famous jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie would have have been 93 today … check out Google’s cool Doodle:

Being a trumpet player myself, I was a big fan of Dizzy, primarily because of his sweet horn and the cheeks (although try as I might I could never play with my cheeks puffed out like that). When I was a freshman in high school I had an upperclassman bully (yes, they exist even in marching band!) take my cornet and bend the bell up (why he did this, I cannot remember). It kinked the bell tube though so of course it wouldn’t play that well. My parents had it repaired but that was pretty much the last straw for that old horn (which I had been playing since grade school) and I ended up getting a new silver Yamaha trumpet (which I still own and occasionally play) so it ended well. 😉

One of my favorite memories of Dizzy was his appearance on The Muppet Show:

Man, that guy could blow! Happy Birthday, Dizzy!