Casa John, Mondo Hermosa

John Birks Gillespie dedicated his life to creativity and equity. His home is a beautiful world we all could aspire to. This composition came to me when Diz passed, and is his echo that I send on into the world, as the ripples of his gifts continue to build and spread.

The plaintive intro changes to a bossa nova, as Dizzy's love of Latin rhythm led him to introduce Chano Pozo and other latin pioneers to US ears in the 1940's. It was Dizzy who "opened" Cuba to the US in 1975, and who ultimately left us with his United Nation orchestra, capably led into the future by Paquito D'Rivera.