A boy who dreamed of becoming a jazz musician, and did it — with a bent horn, an infectious smile and a virtuosity that secured his place as one of history’s top jazz artists. That’s John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, born in Cheraw, South Carolina, on this day in 1917. Together with Charlie Parker, he became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. Gillespie, who died in 1993, was also a man with a mischievous sense of humor; in 1964 he announced he was running for president and that his cabinet would include Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk. Here he is performing original compositions “Salt Peanuts” and “A Night in Tunisia.”