The 1990 Dizzy Gillespie documentary, To Bop or Not to Be: A Jazz Life, directed by Norwegian director Jan Horne, left out something that made it great: narration. Instead, of talking heads providing analysis and biographical information about Gillespie, it simply let musicians, concert performances and archival footage tell the story. The result is a surprisingly coherent film that showcased the exceptionalism of the trumpeter—both as a musician and a humanist.
Here's the documentary...
Here's the documentary...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
