“Oh man, they are so good, it’s just ridiculous.” So said Aretha Franklin when asked about the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, a quintet of direct descendants of the beloved trumpet master known for his puffed-out cheeks, curiously bent horn, mischievous sense of humor, and his brilliant contribution as a progenitor of the Bebop jazz movement.
The Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars are ready to bring their sounds into your home on Thursday, February 25 at 7:30 pm EST as part of the SOPAC Sessions, a livestream series of concerts playing directly from the stage at South Orange Performing Arts Center.

[Left to Right] Cyrus Chestnut, Freddie Hendrix, John Lee, Steve Davis, and Tommy Campbell. [Photo courtesy of Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars]
After Gillespie’s death in 1993, his family approached long time bass player and Gillespie band member John Lee to keep the music alive. Lee is the Executive Director of three touring ensembles. In addition to the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, Lee helms the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, and Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Cuban Experience which involve many overlapping members.
When the All-Star quintet assemble on the SOPAC stage, it will be the first time since their weeklong engagement at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club in January 2020. “It feels like a long time ago,” says Lee, who recalls playing his last live show with the Afro-Cuban Experience on Feb 27, 2020. For a musician who is used to logging in thousands of miles to play Gillespie’s music, the last year has been all too quiet.

Gillespie in concert, Deauville, Normandy, France, July 1991. [Photo credit: Roland Godefroy / Wikimedia Commons]
“[Dizzy] had a profound wisdom about him which is just incredible,” recalls Lee. “He had a joie de vivre and I always tell people that it was a party on stage. And he didn’t just play his own compositions. He had a great variety in the selection of material. We never did just a whole show of just Bebop. There’d be swing, Bossa nova, some Samba, some funky stuff, and he’d sing a few songs. That was always the great pull for me – he played so many different things.”
In addition to some of Gillespie’s classics such as “Night in Tunisia,” “Fiesta Mojo,” and “I Can’t Get Started” the quintet will recall other jazz giants during the set, including Miles Davis’ “Blue in Green” off the iconic album “Kind of Blue.” “Dizzy loved that song,” says Lee. “He thought it was a great example of tension and release in composing.”

John Lee, bassist and Executive Director of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars. [Photo courtesy of Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars]
And Gillespie knew how to select some of the greats. Lee recalls studying jazz in Philadelphia and touring with bands led by drummer Max Roach and pianist McCoy Tyner. He later joined Gillespie’s band full-time after playing a Memphis gig without any rehearsal. Years later, he’s at the forefront of keeping the Gillespie tradition alive.
In 2016, Aretha Franklin sat on a comfortable couch at her 72nd birthday party surrounded by Denzel Washington and Clive Davis as she listened to the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars. On Thursday, February 26 at 7:30pm, you can turn on your media device of choice and do the same.
Visit the South Orange Performing Arts Center virtual ticket link to purchase tickets to the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars. Tickets are $10 and they’re free to SOPAC members. And it’s a fantastic opportunity to support one of our local arts organizations.