Bidders Worldwide Compete for Dizzy’s Trumpet

For Immediate Release

Jazz lovers from all points of the globe will bid to own a piece of jazz history but instead of raising a paddle, they’ll be clicking a mouse. Thousands of items from the home of American jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie will go to the highest bidder. The auction will be held in New Jersey, USA, but thanks to technology anyone can view the catalogue online and participate in the auction via phone or Internet.

Jazz, the quintessentially American music form created in New Orleans, has legions of fans throughout the world and all of them are familiar with the Be Bop sound of John Birks Gillespie. Recognized by his puffy cheeks and bent trumpet, the possessions that mark the musical career of Dizzy will be sold at auction on September 14th. The sale is being handled by Dawson & Nye Auctioneers of Morris Plains, New Jersey.

Collectors and jazz fans will bid to purchase the many photographs, letters, telegrams and hand-written correspondence to Dizzy from Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald and many other celebrities. There are also letters from U.S. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Items from Dizzy Gillespie’s own campaign for President, passports stamped by many countries around the globe visited as a U.S. State Department “Goodwill Ambassador,” date books and address books from his 50 years in music are also up for bid. His signature hats are expected to be popular sale items. Many of the Afro-Cuban instruments Dizzy used to make his unique music are also available.

All of the items being sold are from the Englewood, NJ home of Dizzy and his wife Lorraine. The couple resided there from 1965 until her death last year, Dizzy died in 1993.

All items can be viewed prior to the sale at www.dawsonandnye.com. Local fans can preview the items in person and attend special events including Dizzy on Film and a concert featuring the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Band. Bids will be accepted in advance of the sale, and during the sale bidding will be in-person, by phone and through eBay Live.