Bill Dixon
World War II Veteran found his calling in the world of music
In 1946, when Dixon was 21, he was discharged from the service and returned to New York. He quickly got married and had three children by 1949. He used money from the G.I. Bill to study painting.
"The racism was just too much for me, so I left that," said Dixon. "I was sitting in Central Park. I was about 22 years old. I thought my life was completely over and I always wanted to study music."
He attended the Hartnett Conservatory of Music, where he studied the trumpet. He was helped along by the likes of jazz giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.
"It was just absolutely wonderful," said Dixon. "Charlie Parker was not what people write about him. He was really good with beginning people."
Dixon said that he would work a variety of 9 to 5 jobs and then play music at night until he built up the confidence to make it his career.
"I studied music because I was interested in music. I never intended to become a musician to become a musician, but before you know it, you're in it," said Dixon. "Music is still a mystery to me. I don't totally understand it."
DiggSyndicate
Bill Dixon studied both painting and music with money from the G.I. Bill. He was married about a year after his discharge from the service in 1946 and had a son in 1949, a daughter in 1950 and a second son in 1965.
He was most certainly influenced by Jazz Giants Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker but was never directly helped by either of them.
One of Dixon's 9 to 5 jobs was an appointment at the United Nations where he worked as an international civil servant and founded the United Nations Jazz Society. In the early 1960s, he left this position and began working in music full time.
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Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 7:45am.