In 1937, after an apprenticeship playing in jam sessions at various clubs (often several in a single evening), Dizzy Gillespie got his first big break. Teddy Hill, the leader of a popular big band, having used Dizzy on a recording session, invited him to tour Europe. Naturally, Gillespie leapt at the chance.

The tour was a success, and Gillespie returned home with a little cash, a fine wardrobe -- and no job: The musicians' union in New York had torn up his working papers, citing a rule protecting musicians' jobs from "foreigners." Gillespie a Foreigner? Indeed: He hailed from Philadelphia!

[Obliged to sneak out of town on gigs, Gillespie met his future wife, Lorraine, on a trip to Washington, D.C., where she danced in a chorus line.]

[Jazz fans (along with gun owners) are among the most sexually active Americans.]