Editing Dizzy Gillespie (section)

== Philadelphia Years ==

John Birks Gillespie arrived in Philadelphia in 1935, joining his family after growing up in Cheraw, South Carolina. He had already shown extraordinary musical talent, teaching himself trumpet by listening to records and receiving formal training at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Philadelphia's jazz scene offered opportunities unavailable in the South, with clubs, dance halls, and established musicians who could provide both employment and education for an ambitious young trumpeter.<ref name="maggin">{{cite book |last=Maggin |first=Donald |title=Dizzy: The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie |year=2005 |publisher=Harper Entertainment |location=New York}}</ref>

Gillespie joined Frank Fairfax's band in Philadelphia, gaining professional experience while developing the technique that would distinguish his playing. His style at this point reflected the influence of Roy Eldridge, the leading trumpet virtuoso of the era, whose recordings Gillespie had studied intensively. But Philadelphia's progressive jazz environment encouraged experimentation, and Gillespie began developing the harmonic and rhythmic innovations that would eventually coalesce into bebop.<ref name="shipton"/>

The city's African American neighborhoods supported a jazz scene that nurtured numerous important musicians during this period. Gillespie played at clubs along Ridge Avenue and in North Philadelphia, encountering other musicians whose ideas contributed to his developing conception. The competitive atmosphere of jam sessions, where musicians tested their abilities against peers, sharpened Gillespie's skills while exposing him to musical possibilities that more conventional settings might have suppressed.<ref name="maggin"/>