{{taxobox |name = Peanut|image = Koeh-163.jpg |image_caption = Peanut (Arachis hypogea) |regnum = Plantae |unranked_divisio = Angiosperms |unranked_classis = Eudicots |unranked_ordo = Rosids |ordo = Fabales |familia = Fabaceae |subfamilia = Faboideae |tribus = Aeschynomeneae |genus = Arachis |species = A. hypogaea |binomial = Arachis hypogaea |binomial_authority = L. |}} The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a species in the legume or "bean" family (Fabaceae). The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (⅜ to 2¾ in) long and 1 to 3 cm (⅜ to 1 inch) broad.

The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (¾ to 1½ in) across, yellow with reddish veining. Hypogaea means "under the earth", after pollination, the flower stalk elongates causing it to bend until the ovary touches the ground. Continued stalk growth then pushes the ovary underground where the mature fruit develops into a legume pod, the peanut. Pods are long, containing 1 to 4 seeds.

Peanuts are known by many other local names such as earthnuts, ground nuts, goober peas, monkey nuts, pygmy nuts and pig nuts.

History

The domesticated peanut is an amphidiploid or allotetraploid, meaning that it has two sets of chromosomes from two different species, thought to be A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. These likely combined in the wild to form the tetraploid species A. monticola, which gave rise to the domesticated peanut. This domestication might have taken place in Paraguay or Bolivia, where the wildest strains grow today. Many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Moche, depicted peanuts in their art.

Archeologists have (thus far) dated the oldest specimens to about 7,600 years found in Peru. Cultivation spread as far as Mesoamerica where the Spanish conquistadors found the tlalcacahuatl (Nahuatl = 'peanut,' whence Mexican Spanish, cacahuate and French, cacahuète) being offered for sale in the marketplace of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). The plant was later spread worldwide by European traders.

Cultivation

The orange-veined, yellow-petaled, pea-like flower of the Arachis hypogaea is borne in axillary clusters above ground. Following self-pollination, the flowers fade and wither. The stalk at the base of the ovary, called the pedicel, elongates rapidly, and turns downward to bury the fruits several inches in the ground, where they complete their development. The entire plant, including most of the roots, is removed from the soil during harvesting.

The pods act in nutrient absorption. The fruits have wrinkled shells that are constricted between pairs of the one to four (usually two) seeds per pod.

Peanuts grow best in light, sandy loam soil. They require five months of warm weather, and an annual rainfall of or the equivalent in irrigation water.

The pods ripen 120 to 150 days after the seeds are planted. If the crop is harvested too early, the pods will be unripe. If they are harvested late, the pods will snap off at the stalk, and will remain in the soil.

Peanuts are particularly susceptible to contamination during growth and storage. Poor storage of peanuts can lead to an infection by the mold fungus Aspergillus flavus, releasing the toxic and highly carcinogenic substance aflatoxin. The aflatoxin-producing molds exist throughout the peanut growing areas and may produce aflatoxin in peanuts when conditions are favorable to fungal growth.

Harvesting occurs in two stages. In mechanized systems, a machine is used to cut off the main root of the peanut plant by cutting through the soil just below the level of the peanut pods. The machine lifts the "bush" from the ground and shakes it, then inverts the bush, leaving the plant upside down on the ground to keep the peanuts out of the soil. This allows the peanuts to dry slowly to a bit less than a third of their original moisture level over a period of three to four days. Traditionally, peanuts are pulled and inverted by hand.

After the peanuts have dried sufficiently, they are threshed, removing the peanut pods from the rest of the bush.

Cultivation in China

The peanut was introduced to China by Portuguese traders in the 17th century and another variety by American missionaries in the 19th century.

They became popular and are featured in many Chinese dishes, often being boiled. During the 1980s, peanut production began to increase so greatly that as of 2006, China was the world's largest peanut producer. A major factor in this increase was the household-responsibility system, which moved financial control from the government to the farmers.

Production

China leads in production of peanuts, having a share of about 41.5% of overall world production, followed by India (18.2%) and the United States of America (6.8%).

+ Top ten producers of peanuts in 2008/2009
Country	! Production	(Million Metric Tons)
	14.30
	6.25
	2.34
	1.55
	1.25
	1.00
	0.85
	0.71
	0.58
	0.50
	Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service: Table 13 Peanut Area, Yield, and Production

Cultivars

Thousands of peanut cultivars are grown, with four major cultivar groups being the most popular: Spanish, Runner, Virginia, and Valencia. There are also Tennessee red and white groups. Certain cultivar groups are preferred for particular uses because of differences in flavor, oil content, size, shape, and disease resistance. For many uses the different cultivars are interchangeable. Most peanuts marketed in the shell are of the Virginia type, along with some Valencias selected for large size and the attractive appearance of the shell. Spanish peanuts are used mostly for peanut candy, salted nuts, and peanut butter. Most Runners are used to make peanut butter.

The various types are distinguished by branching habit and branch length. There are numerous varieties of each type of peanut. There are two main growth forms, bunch and runner. Bunch types grow upright, while runner types grow near the ground.

Each year new cultivars of peanuts are bred and introduced. Introducing a new cultivar may mean change in the planting rate, adjusting the planter, harvester, dryer, cleaner, sheller, and method of marketing.

Spanish group

The small Spanish types are grown in South Africa, and in the southwestern and southeastern U.S. Prior to 1940, 90% of the peanuts grown in Georgia, USA were Spanish types, but the trend since then has been larger-seeded, higher-yielding, more disease-resistant cultivars. Spanish peanuts have a higher oil content than other types of peanuts and in the U.S. are now primarily grown in Oklahoma and Texas.

Cultivars of the Spanish group include "Dixie Spanish", "Improved Spanish 2B", "GFA Spanish", "Argentine", "Spantex", "Spanette", "Shaffers Spanish", "Natal Common (Spanish)", "White Kernel Varieties", "Starr", "Comet", "Florispan", "Spanhoma", "Spancross", "OLin", "Tamspan 90", "AT 9899-14", "Spanco" "Wilco I", "GG 2", "GG 4" and "TMV 2".

Runner group

Since 1940, the southeastern U.S. region has seen a shift to production of Runner group peanuts. This shift is due to good flavor, better roasting characteristics and higher yields when compared to Spanish types leading to food manufacturers' preference for use in peanut butter and salting. Georgia's production is now almost 100% Runner type.

Cultivars of Runners include "Southeastern Runner 56-15", "Dixie Runner", "Early Runner", "Virginia Bunch 67", "Bradford Runner", "Egyptian Giant" (also known as "Virginia Bunch" and "Giant"), "Rhodesian Spanish Bunch" (Valencia and Virginia Bunch), "North Carolina Runner 56-15", "Virugard", "Georgia Green", "Tamrun 96", "Flavor Runner 458", "Tamrun OL01", "Tamrun OL02" and "AT-108".

Virginia group

The large seeded Virginia Group peanuts are grown in the following US states: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and parts of Georgia. They are increasing in popularity due to demand for large peanuts for processing, particularly for salting, confections, and roasting in the shells.

Virginia Group peanuts are either bunch or running in growth habit. The bunch type is upright to spreading. It attains a height of , and a spread of , with rows that seldom cover the ground. The pods are borne within 5 to 10 cm of the base of the plant.

Cultivars of Virginia type peanuts include NC 7, NC 9, NC 10C, NC-V 11, VA 93B, NC 12C, VA-C 92R, Gregory, VA 98R, Perry, Wilson, Hull, AT VC-2 and Shulamit.

Valencia group

Valencia Group peanuts are coarse, and they have heavy reddish stems and large foliage. In the U.S., large commercial production is primarily in Eastern New Mexico, especially in and around Portales, New Mexico, but they are grown on a small scale elsewhere in the South as the best flavored and preferred type for boiled peanuts. They are comparatively tall, having a height of and a spread of . Peanut pods are borne on pegs arising from the main stem and the side branches. Most of the pods are clustered around the base of the plant, and only a few are found several inches away. Valencia types are three seeded and smooth, with no constriction between the seeds. Seeds are oval and tightly crowded into the pods. There are two strains, one with flesh and the other with red seeds. Typical seed weight is 0.4 to 0.5 g.

Tennessee Red and Tennessee White groups

These are alike, except for the color of the seed. Sometimes known also as Texas Red or White, the plants are similar to Valencia types, except that the stems are green to greenish brown, and the pods are rough, irregular, and have a smaller proportion of kernels.

Uses

Varied applications

Peanuts have many uses. They can be eaten as straight food, used in recipes, made into solvents and oils, used in make-up, medicines, textile materials, peanut butter, as well as many other uses. Popular confections made from peanuts include salted peanuts, peanut butter (sandwiches, peanut candy bars, peanut butter cookies, and cups), peanut brittle, and shelled nuts (plain/roasted). Peanuts, served by themselves, are one of the most popular nuts in the world. They are often eaten as snacks, served at cocktail parties and are sometimes added as a nutritional side dish with lunch. Salted peanuts are usually roasted in oil and packed in retail-size plastic bags or hermetically sealed cans. Dry roasted, salted peanuts are also marketed in significant quantities. Peanuts are often a major ingredient in mixed nuts because of their inexpensiveness compared to Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, and so on. Although peanut butter has been a tradition on camping trips and the like because of its high protein count and the fact that it resists spoiling for long periods of time, the primary use of peanut butter is in the home, but large quantities are also used in the commercial manufacture of sandwiches, candy, and bakery products. Boiled peanuts are a preparation of raw, unshelled green peanuts boiled in brine and eaten as a snack in the United States. More recently, fried peanut recipes have emerged - allowing both shell and nut to be eaten. Peanuts are also used in a wide variety of other areas, such as cosmetics, nitroglycerin, plastics, dyes and paints.

Arctic and Antarctic expeditions

While peanuts are nutritional and delicious as an everyday food, during expeditions on foot into the wilderness, especially regions of sub-zero temperatures like the South and North Poles, having peanuts has been the deciding factor between life and death. After learning from the mistakes of other adventurers, especially the tragically ill-prepared Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions to the South Pole lead by Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Captain Oates from 1901 to 1912 (during which the majority of the expedition died), where starvation and lack of the proper amount of calories needed to keep from freezing were a constant danger, adventurers had to decide on a type of food that was dense, portable, high in protein and calories and could be eaten at any time without preparation. Subsequent expeditions thus settled on peanut butter as the ideal foodstuff, freeing explorers from the transport and kindling of cooking fuel (a near-impossibility in the frigid polar winds), and high enough in protein and calories to fuel the party and keep them from freezing to death in the harsh weather and freezing nighttime temperatures. Peanut butter was further favored for speed and ease of use because it could be eaten while walking if necessary.

Peanut oil

Peanut oil is often used in cooking, because it has a mild flavor and a relatively high smoke point. Due to its high monounsaturated content, it is considered more healthy than saturated oils, and is resistant to rancidity. There are several types of peanut oil including: aromatic roasted peanut oil, refined peanut oil, extra virgin or cold pressed peanut oil and peanut extract. In the United States, refined peanut oil is exempt from allergen labeling laws.

Peanut flour

Peanut flour is lower in fat than peanut butter, and is popular with chefs because its high protein content makes it suitable as a flavor enhancer. Peanut flour is used as a gluten-free solution.

Cuisine

Peru

Peanuts are common ingredients in Peruvian cuisine reflecting the marriage of native ingredients and ingredients introduced by Europeans. In one example peanuts are roasted along with hot peppers (both native to South America) and blended with roasted onions, garlic, and oil (all of European origin) to make a smooth sauce poured over boiled potatoes. This dish is especially famous in the city of Arequipa and is known as "papas con ocopa". Another example combines a similar mixture with sautéed seafood or boiled and shredded chicken in the form of a fricassee. These dishes are generally known as ajis (the word for hot peppers), such as aji de pollo and aji de mariscos. Not all cooks use peanuts in seafood "ajis".

During Colonial times the Spanish in Peru learned to use ingredients like peanuts in substitution for nuts which were unavailable in Peru. It is well documented that Spanish cuisine makes extensive use of almonds, pine nuts, and other nuts, in ground or paste form, combined with rice, meats and vegetables, to create dishes like rice pilaf. However, almonds, pine nuts, chestnuts, walnuts, etc. were too expensive or unobtainable in Peru.

Israel

Crunchy coated peanuts, called kabukim in Hebrew, are a popular snack in Israel. Kabukim are commonly sold by weight at corner stores where fresh nuts and seeds are sold, though they are also available packaged. The coating typically consists of flour, salt, starch, lecithin, and sometimes sesame seeds. An additional variety of crunchy coated peanuts popular in Israel is "American peanuts." The coating of this variety is thinner but harder to crack. The origin of the name is obscure.

Another popular Israeli peanut snack is Bamba. Similar in shape to Cheez Doodles, Bamba puffs are made of corn and flavored with peanut butter.

India

In Indian sub-continent, peanuts are known as either a light snack by themselves, usually roasted and salted (sometimes with the addition of chilli powder), and often sold roasted in pod on roads in the north, or boiled with salt in the south. They are also made into little dessert or sweet snack pieces by processing with refined sugar and jaggery. Indian cuisine uses roasted, crushed peanuts to give a crunchy body to salads; they are added whole (without pods) to leafy vegetable stews for the same reason. Another use of peanut oil as cooking oil. Most Indians use mustard, sunflower, and peanut oil for cooking.

Southeast Asia

Peanuts are also widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Indonesia, where they are typically made into a spicy sauce. Peanuts originally came to Indonesia from the Philippines, where the legume came from Mexico in times of Spanish colonization.

Common Indonesian peanut-based dishes include gado-gado, pecel, karedok and ketoprak, all vegetable salads mixed with peanut sauce, and the peanut-based sauce for satay.

Mali, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast

Peanuts grow well in southern Mali and adjacent regions of the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. Peanut sauce, prepared with onions, garlic, peanut butter/paste, and vegetables like carrots, cabbage/cauliflower, can be vegetarian (the peanuts supplying ample protein) or prepared with meat, usually chicken.

Zambia/Malawi

Peanuts are a common ingredient of several types of relishes (dishes which accompany nshima) eaten by the tribes in Malawi and in the eastern part of Zambia, and these dishes are now common throughout both countries. In this area they are always called groundnuts.

United States

In the U.S., peanuts are used in candies, cakes, cookies, and other sweets. They are also enjoyed roasted and salted. Peanut butter is one of the most popular peanut-based foods in the U.S. In some southern portions of the U.S., peanuts are boiled for several hours until soft and moist. Peanuts are also deep fried, shell and all.

Boiled peanuts

Boiled peanuts are a popular snack in the southern United States, as well as in India and China. Peanuts are also used in the Mali meat stew maafe, and in many sauces for South American meat dishes, especially rabbit.

Malnutrition

Peanuts are used to help fight malnutrition. Plumpy Nut, MANA Nutrition, and Medika Mamba are high protein, high energy and high nutrient peanut-based pastes that were developed to be used as a therapeutic food to aid in famine relief. Organizations like the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Project Peanut Butter and Doctors Without Borders have used these products to help save malnourished children in developing countries.

Other uses

Peanuts can be used like other legumes and grains to make a lactose-free milk-like beverage, peanut milk. Peanut plant tops are used for hay.

Low grade or culled peanuts not suitable for the edible market are used in the production of peanut oil. The protein cake (oilcake meal) residue from oil processing is used as an animal feed and as a soil fertilizer. Low grade peanuts are also widely sold as a garden bird feed.

Peanuts have a variety of industrial end uses. Paint, varnish, lubricating oil, leather dressings, furniture polish, insecticides, and nitroglycerin are made from peanut oil. Soap is made from saponified oil, and many cosmetics contain peanut oil and its derivatives. The protein portion of the oil is used in the manufacture of some textile fibers. Peanut shells are used in the manufacture of plastic, wallboard, abrasives, fuel, cellulose (used in rayon and paper) and mucilage (glue). Rudolf Diesel ran some of the first engines that bear his name on peanut oil and it is still seen as a potentially useful fuel.

Nutritional value

{{nutritionalvalue | name=Peanut, valencia, raw | kJ=2385| water=4.26 g| protein=25 g | fat=48 g | satfat=7 g | monofat=24 g| polyfat=16 g | carbs=21 g | fiber=9 g | | sugars=0.0 g | iron_mg=2 | calcium_mg=62 | magnesium_mg=184 | phosphorus_mg=336 | potassium_mg=332 | zinc_mg=3.3 | vitC_mg=0.0 | pantothenic_mg=1.8 | vitB6_mg=0.3 | folate_ug=246 | thiamin_mg=0.6 | riboflavin_mg=0.3 | niacin_mg=12.9 | tryptophan=0.2445 g| threonine=0.859 g| isoleucine=0.882 g| leucine=1.627 g| lysine=0.901 g| methionine=0.308 g| cystine=0.322 g| phenylalanine=1.300 g| tyrosine=1.020 g| valine=1.052 g| arginine=3.001 g| histidine=0.634 g| alanine=0.997 g| aspartic acid=3.060 g| glutamic acid=5.243 g| glycine=1.512 g| proline=1.107 g| serine=1.236 g| right=1 | source_usda=1 }}

Peanuts are rich in nutrients, providing over 30 essential nutrients and phytonutrients. Peanuts are a good source of niacin, folate, fiber, magnesium, vitamin E, manganese and phosphorus. They also are naturally free of trans-fats and sodium, and contain about 25% protein (a higher proportion than in any true nut).

Niacin

Peanuts are a good source of niacin, and thus contribute to brain health and blood flow.

Antioxidants

Recent research on peanuts and nuts in general has found antioxidants and other chemicals that may provide health benefits. New research shows peanuts rival the antioxidant content of many fruits. Roasted peanuts rival the antioxidant content of blackberries and strawberries, and are far richer in antioxidants than carrots or beets. Research conducted by a team of University of Florida scientists, published in the journal Food Chemistry, shows that peanuts contain high concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols, primarily a compound called p-coumaric acid, and that roasting can increase peanuts' p-coumaric acid levels, boosting their overall antioxidant content by as much as 22%.

Resveratrol

Peanuts are a significant source of resveratrol, a chemical associated with but not proven to cause a reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The average amount of resveratrol in one ounce of commonly eaten peanuts (15 whole peanut kernels) is 73 μg.

Coenzyme Q10

Peanuts are a source of coenzyme Q10, as are oily fish, beef, soybeans and spinach.

==Health concerns==

Allergies

Some people (1-2% of the US population) have mild to severe allergic reactions to peanut exposure; symptoms can range from watery eyes to anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal if untreated. For these individuals, eating a small amount of peanuts or just breathing the dust from peanuts can cause a reaction. An allergic reaction can also be triggered by eating foods that have been processed with machines which previously processed peanuts, making the avoidance of such food difficult. So, some foods processed in facilities which also handle peanuts may carry warnings on their labels indicating such.

A hypothesis of the development of peanut allergy has to do with the way peanuts are processed in North America versus other countries, such as Pakistan and China, where peanuts are widely eaten. According to a 2003 study, roasting peanuts, as more commonly done in North America, causes the major peanut allergen Ara h2 to become a stronger inhibitor of the digestive enzyme trypsin, making it more resistant to digestion. Additionally, this allergen has also been shown to protect Ara h1, another major peanut allergen, from digestion —- a characteristic further enhanced by roasting.

Another hypothesis, called the hygiene hypothesis, states that a lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents like germs and parasites could be causing the increase of food allergies.

Recent (2008) studies comparing age of peanut introduction in Great Britain with introduction in Israel appear to show that delaying exposure to peanuts can dramatically increase the risk of developing peanut allergies.

Results from some animal studies (and limited evidence from human subjects) suggest that the dose of peanuts is an important mediator of peanut sensitisation and tolerance; low doses tend to lead to sensitisation and higher doses tend to lead to tolerance.

Peanut allergy has been associated with the use of skin preparations containing peanut oil among children, but the evidence is not regarded as conclusive. Peanut allergies have also been associated with family history and intake of soy products.

Though the allergy can last a lifetime, another 2003 study indicates that 23.3% of children will outgrow a peanut allergy.

Some school districts in the U.S.A have banned peanuts. There are experimental techniques which appear to have desensitized some allergic individuals. The most popular technique, oral immunotherapy, works to create desensitization in those allergic by feeding them small amounts of peanuts until their body becomes desensitized. Some progress is possibly being made in the UK, where researchers at Cambridge are studying the effectiveness of the desensitization technique.

Research indicates that refined peanut oil will not cause allergic reactions in most people with peanut allergies. However, crude (unrefined) peanut oils are strongly flavoured, and have been shown to contain protein, which may cause allergic reactions. In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, 60 people with proven peanut allergy were challenged with both crude peanut oil and refined peanut oil. The authors conclude, “Crude peanut oil caused allergic reactions in 10% of allergic subjects studied and should continue to be avoided.” They also state, “Refined peanut oil does not seem to pose a risk to most people with peanut allergy.” However, they point out that refined peanut oil can still pose a risk to peanut-allergic individuals if oil that has previously been used to cook foods containing peanuts is reused.

Contamination with aflatoxin

Peanuts may be contaminated with the mold Aspergillus flavus which produces a carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin. Lower quality specimens, particularly where mold is evident, are more likely to be contaminated. USDA tests every truckload of raw peanuts for aflatoxin; any containing aflatoxin levels of more than 20 parts per billion are destroyed. The peanut industry has manufacturing steps in place to ensure all peanuts are inspected for aflatoxin. Peanuts are also processed at a high temperature to ensure any microorganisms are killed.

Cardiovascular disease

A 1974 study suggested that peanut oil caused clogging of the arteries. Robert Wissler of the University of Chicago reported that diets high in peanut oil, when combined with cholesterol intake, clogged the arteries of Rhesus monkeys more than butterfat. However, subsequent work has cast serious doubt on those findings. In the Rhesus study, monkeys were being fed 20 times higher than normal dietary quantities of cholesterol in addition to peanut oil. When a similar study was performed without abnormal doses of cholesterol, no such effect was seen. In fact, peanut oil has been found to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol without reducing beneficial HDL cholesterol.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program

George Washington Carver is often credited with inventing 300 different uses for peanuts (which, contrary to popular belief, did not include peanut butter but did include salted peanuts). Carver was one of many USDA researchers who encouraged cotton farmers in the South to grow peanuts instead of, or in addition to, cotton, because cotton had depleted so much nitrogen from the soil, and one of the peanut's properties as a legume is to put nitrogen back into the soil (a process known as nitrogen fixation). Rising demand for peanuts in the early 20th century was due to a shortage of plant oils during World War I and the growing popularity of peanut butter, roasted peanuts and peanut candies. Peanut products originating around the early 20th century include many brands still sold today such as Cracker Jack (1893), Planters peanuts (1906), Oh Henry! candy bar (1920), Baby Ruth candy bar (1920), Butterfinger candy bar (1923), Mr. Goodbar candy bar (1925), Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (1925), and Peter Pan (peanut butter) (1928).

Peanuts were designated by the U.S. Congress to be one of America's basic crops. To protect domestic industry by keeping prices artificially high, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) aids peanut farmers through commodity programs. In the 2008 Farm Bill, the marketing quota for peanuts was eliminated and the Price Support Program was switched to a Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment Program. Direct and counter-cyclical payments provide benefits to producers with eligible historical production of peanuts whenever the effective price is less than the targeted price.

Trade

The major producers/exporters of peanuts are the United States, Argentina, Sudan, Senegal, and Brazil. These five countries account for 71% of total world exports. In recent years, the United States has been the leading exporter of peanuts. The major peanut importers are the European Union (EU), Canada, and Japan. These three areas account for 78% of the world's imports.

Although India and China are the world's largest producers of peanuts, they account for a small part of international trade because most of their production is consumed domestically as peanut oil. Exports of peanuts from India and China are equivalent to less than 4% of world trade.

Ninety percent of India's production is processed into peanut oil. Only a nominal amount of hand-picked select-grade peanuts are exported. India prohibits the importation of all oil seeds, including peanuts.

The European Union is the largest consuming region in the world that does not produce peanuts. All of its consumption is supplied by imports. Consumption of peanuts in the EU is primarily as food, mostly as roasted-in-shell peanuts and as shelled peanuts used in confectionery and bakery products.

The average annual U.S. imports of peanuts are less than 0.5% of U.S. consumption. Two thirds of U.S. imports are roasted, unshelled peanuts. The major suppliers are Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Canada. The principal suppliers of shelled peanut imports are Argentina and Canada. Most of Canada's peanut butter is processed from Chinese peanuts. Imports of peanut butter from Argentina are in the form of a paste and must be further processed in the U.S. Other minor suppliers of peanut butter include Malawi, China, India, and Singapore.

Approximately 50% of all peanuts produced in the United States are grown within a radius of Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is home to the National Peanut Festival established in 1938 and held each fall to honor peanut growers and celebrate the harvest.

See also

BBCH-scale (peanut)

Silverleaf whitefly

Full Belly Project

Foam peanut

Malian peanut sheller

List of edible seeds

George Washington Carver Peanut Discoveries

Beer Nuts

African Groundnut Council

Footnotes

References

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), "Peanut Program"

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), "Groundnut (peanut)"

Putnam, D.H. & Oplinger, E.S., "Peanut", 1991, Center for Alternative Plant and Animal Products, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

University of Georgia, "World Geography of the Peanut", 2006

External links

Paul Lunde, New World Foods, Old World Diet, 1992, Saudi Aramco World

Category:Crops originating from the Americas Category:Edible legumes Category:Arachis Category:Nitrogen-fixing crops

af:Grondboontjie am:ኦቾሎኒ ar:فول سوداني an:Arachis hypogaea gn:Manduvi ay:Chuqupa az:Araxis bn:চীনাবাদাম zh-min-nan:Thô͘-tāu bs:Kikiriki bg:Фъстък ca:Cacauet cs:Podzemnice olejná da:Jordnød de:Erdnuss nv:Neeshchʼííłbáhí et:Maapähkel es:Arachis hypogaea eo:Ternukso eu:Kakahuete fa:بادام زمینی fr:Arachide gl:Cacahuete gu:મગફળી ko:땅콩 ha:Gyaɗa hi:मूँगफली hsb:Zemski worjech hr:Kikiriki io:Arakido id:Kacang tanah it:Arachis hypogaea he:אגוז אדמה kn:ಕಡಲೇಕಾಯಿ ka:არაქისი ku:Fistiqa axê lv:Zemesrieksts lb:Kakuett lt:Valgomasis arachis hu:Földimogyoró mk:Кикирики ml:നിലക്കടല mr:भुईमूग ms:Kacang Tanah nah:Tlālcacahuatl mrj:Кӹдӓлӓн пӱкш nl:Pinda ne:बदाम ja:ラッカセイ no:Peanøtt pnb:مونگ پھلی pl:Orzech ziemny pt:Amendoim qu:Inchik ru:Арахис культурный simple:Peanut sk:Podzemnica olejná sr:Кикирики fi:Maapähkinä sv:Jordnöt tl:Mani ta:நிலக்கடலை th:ถั่วลิสง to:Pīnati tr:Yer fıstığı uk:Арахіс культурний vi:Lạc yi:סטאשקע zh-yue:花生 zh:花生

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
name	Jeff Dunham
birth name	Jeffrey William Robinson Dunham
birth date	April 18, 1962
birth place	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
medium	Stand-up
nationality	American
genre	Ventriloquism
influences	Edgar Bergen
spouse	Paige Dunham
notable work	Jeff Dunham: Arguing with MyselfJeff Dunham: Spark of InsanityJeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas SpecialThe Jeff Dunham Show
website	www.JeffDunham.com
past members	}}

Jeffrey William Robinson "Jeff" Dunham (born 18 April 1962) is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Star Search, Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He is familiar to Comedy Central audiences for his three specials on that network: Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, and Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show for one season on the network in 2009. His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Describing his characters, Time observes, "All of them are politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism, and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.

Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate.com, and according to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America, and is among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of March 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube (his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity is the ninth most watched YouTube video). A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with its DVD going quadruple platinum (selling over 400,000) in its first two weeks. Forbes.com ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period.

Early life and career

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas in 1962, and raised in an affluent neighborhood as an only child, adopted by a real estate appraiser and a homemaker. He began ventriloquism at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to record album. The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library. Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire.

When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and his idol, Edgar Bergen.

Career

Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager, in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them.

Dunham's earliest television exposure was doing commercials for Datsun dealerships while in high school. During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks (Dunham notes in his autobiography that the latter was an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes). In college, he flew around the country on weekends to perform private shows for customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine. After graduating from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1986, he moved to Los Angeles, California, never having, as he has commented, "a real job."

Dunham appeared in the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in 1985, and at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island.

Dunham made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1990. At the end of his act, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson’s couch, considered a mark of approval. At the time, Dunham saw this as his big break, though he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV. One of these was such as a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with the character of Walter, whom he had begun using around this time. Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz. His other appearances include 60 Minutes II, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, Hollywood Squares, Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America and the WB's Blue Collar TV.

On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them. Dunham’s manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In 2006, it gave Dunham his first one hour special, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California, and drew two million viewers when it aired, cementing Dunham's stardom. His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. in 2007. It was available at Redbox stands and on DVD in September 2007. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people. It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008. The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.

Dunham appeared as "The Amazing Ken" with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the 2007 Larry the Cable Guy movie Delta Farce.

In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008. It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who has joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.

In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009. Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.

Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia. In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards.

Dunham appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Debbie.

Critical praise and controversy

In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's “Stand-Up Showdown.” He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice, was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards, and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing.

Some have accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic. In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone featuring Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the Advertising Standards Authority noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech." He further commented, "I'm considering renaming Achmed, 'Bill.'" (Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd," or those characterized by "basic Christian values," as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.)

Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo. In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics, who did not find it funny, and either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or conceded a prejudice against Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself.

J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters that it would otherwise not garner by itself.

Books

In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham, and Walter Cummings.

According to Dunham's website, his autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in November 2010.

Characters

Walter

Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter has appeared in all three Comedy Central specials. He's been married for several decades, and when Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicon mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.

Peanut

Peanut is a hyperactive, purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and has been described as "the bad kid". He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"

José Jalapeño on a Stick

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Latin accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick. Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.

Bubba J

Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt".

Sweet Daddy Dee

Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho."

Melvin the Superhero Guy

Also referred to in Spark of Insanity as The Superhero: Melvin, Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once." Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He also has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I kill you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and later made an appearance in the Very Special Christmas Special, singing a song called "Jingle Bombs". He also dubs the so-called Guitar Guy "You racist bastard"! for warming up with typical Arab chords. Most of the humor Dunham expresses with Achmed centers on this motif. When mentioning that Achmed appears to be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess, by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation." Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed claims he does not think he's a Muslim ("look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'"). As of June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed is the fourth most watched online video ever, having amassed nearly 200 million views.

Diane

Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Achmed Junior

The son of Achmed who appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010.

Others

Other characters that Dunham has voiced include a miniature puppet of Peanut's, which turns out to be a small version of Dunham himself, and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E;'s An Evening at The Improv. Dunham jokingly states in his autobiography that the tequila worm must have been somewhat "confused", as the prop Dunham used was actually an old Chianti bottle, with the visually identifiable "straw basket" (fiasco) design, filled with cranberry juice.

Personal life

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girl's softball game, but which went unused and packed away for 50 years, before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.

Dunham, who says he has loved helicopters since childhood, is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits, as depicted in his appearance on the CMT television magazine Fast Living.

In November 2008 Dunham separated from his wife of 14 years, Paige, with whom he has three daughters, Bree, Ashlyn and Kenna.

References

External links

Jeff Dunham's official website

Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central

Category:1962 births Category:American adoptees Category:American stand-up comedians Category:Baylor University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Dallas, Texas Category:Ventriloquists

bg:Джеф Дънам cs:Jeff Dunham da:Jeff Dunham de:Jeff Dunham es:Jeff Dunham fr:Jeff Dunham it:Jeff Dunham he:ג'ף דנהאם hu:Jeff Dunham nl:Jeff Dunham no:Jeff Dunham pl:Jeff Dunham pt:Jeff Dunham ru:Данэм, Джефф sr:Џеф Данам fi:Jeff Dunham sv:Jeff Dunham

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	John Birks Gillespie
Born	October 21, 1917Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	January 06, 1993Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Instrument	Trumpet, piano, trombone
Genre	BebopAfro-Cuban jazz
Occupation	Trumpeter, bandleader, singer, composer
Years active	1935–1993
Associated acts	Charlie ParkerCab CallowayBud Powell
Label	Pablo Records, Verve Records, Savoy Records, RCA Victor Records, Milan Records, Douglas Records }}

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".

Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Jon Faddis and Chuck Mangione.

Allmusic's Scott Yanow wrote that "Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time (some would say the best), Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up copying Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddis's emergence in the 1970s that Dizzy's style was successfully recreated . . . Arguably Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time."

In addition to featuring in the epochal moments in bebop, he was instrumental in founding Afro-Cuban jazz, the modern jazz version of what early-jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton referred to as the "Spanish Tinge". Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, building on the virtuoso style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown in jazz. Dizzy's beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing, his bent horn, pouched cheeks and his light-hearted personality were essential in popularizing bebop.

Biography

Early life and career

He was born in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children born to James and Lottie Gillespie. James was a local bandleader, so instruments were made available to Dizzy. He started to play the piano at the age of four. Dizzy's father died when the boy was only ten years old. Dizzy taught himself how to play the trombone as well as the trumpet by the age of twelve. From the night he heard his idol, Roy Eldridge, play on the radio, he dreamed of becoming a jazz musician. He received a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in Laurinburg, North Carolina He attended for two years before accompanying his family when they moved to Philadelphia.

Dizzy's first professional job was with the Frank Fairfax Orchestra in 1935, after which he joined the respective orchestras of Edgar Hayes and Teddy Hill, essentially replacing Roy Eldridge as first trumpet in 1937. Teddy Hill’s band was where Dizzy Gillespie made his first recording, King Porter Stomp. At this time Dizzy met a young woman named Lorraine from the Apollo Theatre, whom he married in 1940. They remained married until his death in 1993. Dizzy stayed with Teddy Hill’s band for a year, then left and free-lanced with numerous other bands. In 1939, Dizzy joined Cab Calloway's orchestra, with which he recorded one of his earliest compositions, the instrumental Pickin' the Cabbage, in 1940. (Originally released on Paradiddle, a 78rpm backed with a co-composition with Cozy Cole, Calloway's drummer at the time, on the Vocalion label, #5467).

Dizzy was fired by Calloway in late 1941, after a notorious altercation between the two. The incident is recounted by Dizzy, along with fellow Calloway band members Milt Hinton and Jonah Jones, in Jean Bach's 1997 film, The Spitball Story. Calloway did not approve of Dizzy's mischievous humor, nor of his adventuresome approach to soloing; according to Jones, Calloway referred to it as “Chinese music.” During one performance, Calloway saw a spitball land on the stage, and accused Dizzy of having thrown it. Dizzy denied it, and the ensuing argument led to Calloway striking Dizzy, who then pulled out a switchblade knife and charged Calloway. The two were separated by other band members, during which scuffle Calloway was cut on the hand.

During his time in Calloway's band, Dizzy Gillespie started writing big band music for bandleaders like Woody Herman and Jimmy Dorsey. He then freelanced with a few bands - most notably Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra, composed of members of the late Chick Webb's band, in 1942.

In 1943, Dizzy joined the Earl Hines orchestra. The legendary big band of Billy Eckstine gave his unusual harmonies a better setting and it was as a member of Eckstine's band that he was reunited with Parker, a fellow member of Hines's more conventional band. In 1945, Dizzy left Eckstine's band because he wanted to play with a small combo. A "small combo" typically comprised no more than five musicians, playing the trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and drums.He was a world renowned figure and was a major influence on modern day jazz.

The rise of bebop

Bebop was known as the first modern jazz style. However, it was unpopular in the beginning and was not viewed as positively as swing music was. Bebop was seen as an outgrowth of swing, not a revolution. Swing introduced a diversity of new musicians in the bebop era like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Oscar Pettiford, and Gillespie. Through these musicians, a new vocabulary of musical phrases was created. With Charlie Parker, Gillespie jammed at famous jazz clubs like Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House, where the first seeds of bebop were planted. Charlie Parker's system also held methods of adding chords to existing chord progressions and implying additional chords within the improvised lines.

Gillespie compositions like "Groovin' High", "Woody n' You" and "Salt Peanuts" sounded radically different, harmonically and rhythmically, from the swing music popular at the time. "A Night in Tunisia", written in 1942, while Gillespie was playing with Earl Hines' band, is noted for having a feature that is common in today's music, a non-walking bass line. The song also displays Afro-Cuban rhythms. One of their first (and greatest) small-group performances together was only issued in 2005: a concert in New York's Town Hall on June 22, 1945. Gillespie taught many of the young musicians on 52nd Street, including Miles Davis and Max Roach about the new style of jazz. After a lengthy gig at Billy Berg's club in Los Angeles, which left most of the audience ambivalent or hostile towards the new music, the band broke up. Unlike Parker, who was content to play in small groups and be an occasional featured soloist in big bands, Gillespie aimed to lead a big band himself; his first, unsuccessful, attempt to do this was in 1945.

After his work with Parker, Gillespie led other small combos (including ones with Milt Jackson, John Coltrane, Lalo Schifrin, Ray Brown, Kenny Clarke, James Moody, J.J. Johnson, and Yusef Lateef) and finally put together his first successful big band. Dizzy Gillespie and his band tried to popularize bop and make Dizzy Gillespie a symbol of the new music. He also appeared frequently as a soloist with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. He also headlined the 1946 independently-produced musical revue film Jivin' in Be-Bop.

In 1948 Dizzy was involved in a traffic accident when the bicycle he was riding was bumped by an automobile. He was slightly injured, and found that he could no longer hit the B-flat above high C. He won the case, but the jury awarded him only $1000, in view of his high earnings up to that point.

In 1956 he organized a band to go on a State Department tour of the Middle East and earned the nickname "the Ambassador of Jazz". During this time, he also continued to lead a big band that performed throughout the United States and featured musicians including Pee Wee Moore and others. This band recorded a live album at the 1957 Newport jazz festival that featured Mary Lou Williams as a guest artist on piano.

Afro-Cuban music

In the late 1940s, Gillespie was also involved in the movement called Afro-Cuban music, bringing Afro-Latin American music and elements to greater prominence in jazz and even pop music, particularly salsa. Afro-Cuban jazz is based on traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms. Dizzy Gillespie was introduced to Chano Pozo in 1947 by Mario Bauza, a Latin jazz trumpet player. Chano Pozo became Gillespie's conga drummer for his band. Dizzy Gilespie also worked with Mario Bauza in New York jazz clubs on 52nd street and several famous dance clubs such as Palladium and the Apollo Theater in Harlem. They played together in the Chick Webb band and Cab Calloway's band, where Gillespie and Bauza became life-long friends. Dizzy helped develop and mature the Afro-Cuban jazz style.

Afro-Cuban jazz was considered bebop-oriented, and some musicians classified it as a modern style. Afro-Cuban jazz was successful because it never decreased in popularity and it always attracted people to dance to its unique rhythms. Gillespie's most famous contributions to Afro-Cuban music are the compositions "Manteca" and "Tin Tin Deo" (both co-written with Chano Pozo); he was responsible for commissioning George Russell's "Cubano Be, Cubano Bop", which featured the great but ill-fated Cuban conga player, Chano Pozo. In 1977, Gillespie discovered Arturo Sandoval while researching music during a tour of Cuba.

Later years

His biographer Alyn Shipton quotes Don Waterhouse approvingly that Dizzy in the fifties "had begun to mellow into an amalgam of his entire jazz experience to form the basis of new classicism". Another opinion is that, unlike his contemporary Miles Davis, Gillespie essentially remained true to the bebop style for the rest of his career.

In 1960, he was inducted into the Down Beat magazine's Jazz Hall of Fame.

During the 1964 United States presidential campaign the artist, with tongue in cheek, put himself forward as an independent write-in candidate. He promised that if he were elected, the White House would be renamed "The Blues House," and a cabinet composed of Duke Ellington (Secretary of State), Miles Davis, (Director of the CIA), Max Roach (Secretary of Defense), Charles Mingus (Secretary of Peace), Ray Charles (Librarian of Congress), Louis Armstrong (Secretary of Agriculture), Mary Lou Williams (Ambassador to the Vatican), Thelonious Monk (Travelling Ambassador) and Malcolm X (Attorney General). He said his running mate would be Phyllis Diller. Campaign buttons had been manufactured years ago by Gillespie's booking agency "for publicity, as a gag", but now proceeds from them went to benefit the Congress of Racial Equality, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King, Jr.; in later years they became a collector's item. In 1971 Gillespie announced he would run again but withdrew before the election for reasons connected to the Baha'i faith.

Gillespie published his autobiography, To Be or Not to Bop, in 1979.

Gillespie was a vocal fixture in many of John Hubley and Faith Hubley's animated films, such as The Hole, The Hat, and Voyage to Next.

In the 1980s, Dizzy Gillespie led the United Nation Orchestra. For three years Flora Purim toured with the Orchestra and she credits Gillespie with evolving her understanding of jazz after being in the field for over two decades. David Sánchez also toured with the group and was also greatly influenced by Gillespie. Both artists later were nominated for Grammy awards. Gillespie also had a guest appearance on The Cosby Show as well as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

In 1982, Dizzy Gillespie had a cameo appearance on Stevie Wonder's hit "Do I Do". Gillespie's tone gradually faded in the last years in life, and his performances often focused more on his proteges such as Arturo Sandoval and Jon Faddis; his good-humoured comedic routines became more and more a part of his live act.

In 1988, Gillespie had worked with Canadian flautist and saxophonist Moe Koffman on their prestigious album Oo Pop a Da. He did fast scat vocals on the title track and a couple of the other tracks were played only on trumpet.

In 1989 Gillespie gave 300 performances in 27 countries, appeared in 100 U.S. cities in 31 states and the District of Columbia, headlined three television specials, performed with two symphonies, and recorded four albums. He was also crowned a traditional chief in Nigeria, received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; France's most prestigious cultural award. He was named Regent Professor by the University of California, and received his fourteenth honorary doctoral degree, this one from the Berklee College of Music. In addition, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the same year. The next year, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ceremonies celebrating the centennial of American jazz, Gillespie received the Kennedy Center Honors Award and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Duke Ellington Award for 50 years of achievement as a composer, performer, and bandleader. In 1993 he received the Polar Music Prize in Sweden.

November 26, 1992 at Carnegie Hall in New York, following the Second Bahá'í World Congress was Dizzy's 75th birthday concert and his offering to the celebration of the centenary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh. Gillespie was to appear at Carnegie Hall for the 33rd time. The line-up included: Jon Faddis, Marvin "Doc" Holladay, James Moody, Paquito D'Rivera, and the Mike Longo Trio with Ben Brown on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. But Gillespie didn't make it because he was in bed suffering from cancer of the pancreas. "But the musicians played their real hearts out for him, no doubt suspecting that he would not play again. Each musician gave tribute to their friend, this great soul and innovator in the world of jazz."

Gillespie also starred in a film called The Winter in Lisbon released in 2004. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood section of the City of Los Angeles. He is honored by the December 31, 2006 - A Jazz New Year's Eve: Freddy Cole & the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Death and legacy

A longtime resident of Englewood, NJ, he died of pancreatic cancer January 6, 1993, aged 75, and was buried in the Flushing Cemetery, Queens, New York. Mike Longo delivered a eulogy at his funeral. He was also with Gillespie on the night he died, along with Jon Faddis and a select few others.

At the time of his death, Dizzy Gillespie was survived by his widow, Lorraine Willis Gillespie; a daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson; and a grandson, Radji Birks Bryson-Barrett. Gillespie had two funerals. One was a Bahá'í funeral at his request, at which his closest friends and colleagues attended. The second was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York open to the public.

Dizzy Gillespie, a Bahá'í since 1970, was one of the most famous adherents of the Bahá'í Faith which helped him make sense of his position in a succession of trumpeters as well as turning his life from knife-carrying roughneck to global citizen, and from alcohol to soul force, in the words of author Nat Hentoff, who knew Gillespie for forty years. He spoke about the Baha'i Faith frequently on his trips abroad. He is often called the Bahá'í Jazz Ambassador. He is honored with weekly jazz sessions at the New York Bahá'í Center.

Style

Gillespie has been described as the "Sound of Surprise". The Rough Guide to Jazz describes his musical style:

In Dizzy's obituary, Peter Watrous describes his performance style:

Wynton Marsalis summed up Gillespie as a player and teacher:

"Bent" trumpet

Gillespie's trademark trumpet featured a bell which bent upward at a 45-degree angle rather than pointing straight ahead as in the conventional design. In honor of this trademark, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has collected Gillespie's B-flat trumpet. According to Gillespie's autobiography, this was originally the result of accidental damage caused by someone sitting on it during a job on January 6, 1953, but the constriction caused by the bending altered the tone of the instrument, and Gillespie liked the effect. Gillespie's biographer Alyn Shipton writes that Gillespie likely got the idea when he saw a similar instrument in 1937 in Manchester, England while on tour with the Teddy Hill Orchestra. An English trumpeter was using such an instrument because his vision was poor and the horn made reading music easier. According to this account (from British journalist Pat Brand) Gillespie was able to try out the horn and the experience led him, much later, to commission a similar horn for himself.

Whatever the origins of Gillespie's upswept trumpet, by June, 1954, Gillespie was using a professionally manufactured horn of this design, and it was to become a visual trademark for him for the rest of his life.

Discography

1937-49 The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

1941: The Immortal Charlie Christian (with Christian, Thelonious Monk, Delta Music re-released on Laserlight cassette)

1950: Bird & Diz

1952: Dee Gee Days - The Savoy Sessions

1953: Jazz at Massey Hall

1953: Diz & Getz (with Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Max Roach, Herb Ellis)

1954: Afro

1956: Modern Jazz Sextet

1957: Sittin' In (with Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins)

1957: Dizzy Gillespie at Newport

1957: Sonny Side Up (with Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt)

1957: Dizzy in Greece

1958: Birks' Works (Dizzy Gillespie Big Band)

1959: Have Trumpet, Will Excite!

1959: The Ebullient Mr. Gillespie

1960: A Portrait of Duke Ellington

1960/1961: Gillespiana/Carnegie Hall Conert (Verve Records)

1961: An Electrifying Evening with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet

1961: Perceptions (Verve Records) (written by J.J. Johnson, conducted by Gunther Schuller)

1962: Dizzy on the French Riviera (Philips Records)

1963: New Wave (Philips Records) (with Lalo Schifrin, Bola Sete)

1963: Something Old, Something New

1963: Dizzy Gillespie and the Double Six of Paris

1964: Jambo Caribe (Limelight Records)

1965: The New Continent (Limelight)

1964: The Melody Lingers On (Limelight)

1967: Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac (Impulse!)

1968: Live at the Village Vanguard (produced by Sonny Lester

1968: Reunion Big Band In Berlin (MPS Records)

1969: Strictly Bebop (with Babs Gonzalez, Tad Dameron, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, John Coltrane), rec. 1949 EMI Capitol

1969: Real Thing (Perception Records)

1970: Portrait of Jenny (Perception)

1971: Giants (Perception, with Bobby Hackett)

1971: Dizzy Gillespie and the Mitchell Ruff Duo In Concert (Mainstream Records)

1974: Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie

1975: Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods (with Machito, Chico O'Farrill, Mario Bauza)

1975: Jazz Maturity...Where It's Coming From

1975: Oscar Peterson and The Trumpet Kings - Jousts

1975: The Trumpet Kings at Montreux '75

1976: Dizzy's Party

1977: The Gifted Ones (with Count Basie)

1977: Free Ride

1981: Digital at Montreux, 1980 (Toots Thielemans, Bernard Purdie)

1985: New Faces (with Robert Ameen, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Lonnie Plaxico, Charlie Christian)

1988: Oop Pop a Da (with Moe Koffman)

1989: Live at the Royal Festival Hall London July 10, 1989

1989: The Symphony Sessions (with Ron Holloway, Ed Cherry, John Lee, Ignacio Berroa)

1990: The Winter in Lisbon

1990: Rhythmstick (CTI Records)

1991: Live! at Blues Alley (with Ron Holloway, Ed Cherry, John Lee, Ignacio Berroa)

1992: Groovin' High

1992: To Bird With Love

1995: In Paris v.2 Vogue RCA 1995

2000: Dizzy For President Douglas Records

Filmography

1983 Jazz in America (Embassy)

1986 In Redondo Beach/Jazz In America ( Embassy)

1991 Dizzy Gillespie: A Night in Tunisia (VIEW)

1993 Live in London (Kultur Video)

1998 Dizzy Gillespie & Charles Mingus (Vidjazz)

1998 Dizzy Gillespie: Ages (Vidjazz)

1999 Jazz Casual: Dizzy Gillespie (Rhino)

2001 Jivin'in Be-Bop (Jazz Classic Video)

2001 Dizzy Gillespie: A Night in Chicago (VIEW)

2001 Live at the Royal Festival Hall 1987 (Pioneer)

2002 Live in Montreal (Image)

2003 20th Century Jazz Masters

2003 Swing Era (with Mel Torme) (Idem)

2005 Norman Granz Jazz in Montreux: Presents Dizzy Gillespie Sextet '77 (Eagle Vision USA)

2005 Summer Jazz Live at New Jersey 1987 (FS World Jazz / Alpha Centauri Entertainment)

2005 A Night in Havana: Dizzy Gillespie in Cuba (New Video Group)

2006 Jazz Icons: Live in '58 & '70 (Universal)

2008 London Concerts 1965 & 1966 (Impro-Jazz Spain)

Bibliography

To Be, or Not...to Bop. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

References

External links

The Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars

Dizzy Gillespie's "The Cult of Bebop"

Dizzy Gillespie Talking to Les Tomkins in 1973

Dizzy Gillespie Mulitmedia Directory - Kerouac Alley

Dizzy Gillespie Concerts & Interviews on NPR Music

Category:1917 births Category:1993 deaths Category:People from Cheraw, South Carolina Category:African American musicians Category:American Bahá'ís Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:American memoirists Category:Bebop trumpeters Category:Burials at Flushing Cemetery Category:Cancer deaths in New Jersey Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Cuban jazz (genre) bandleaders Category:Cuban jazz (genre) composers Category:Cuban jazz (genre) trumpeters Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Latin jazz bandleaders Category:Latin jazz composers Category:Latin jazz trumpeters Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:People from Corona, Queens Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Savoy Records artists Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Verve Records artists Category:Prestige Records artists Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:Converts to the Bahá'í Faith Category:20th-century Bahá'ís Category:Manor Records artists

bs:Dizzy Gillespie bg:Дизи Гилеспи ca:Dizzy Gillespie cs:Dizzy Gillespie da:Dizzy Gillespie de:Dizzy Gillespie et:Dizzy Gillespie el:Ντίζι Γκιλέσπι es:Dizzy Gillespie eo:Dizzy Gillespie eu:Dizzy Gillespie fa:دیزی گیلیسپی fr:Dizzy Gillespie gl:Dizzy Gillespie hr:Dizzy Gillespie io:Dizzy Gillespie id:Dizzy Gillespie it:Dizzy Gillespie he:דיזי גילספי sw:Dizzy Gillespie la:Dizzie Gillespie lb:Dizzy Gillespie hu:Dizzy Gillespie nl:Dizzy Gillespie ja:ディジー・ガレスピー no:Dizzy Gillespie nn:Dizzy Gillespie oc:Dizzy Gillespie nds:Dizzy Gillespie pl:Dizzy Gillespie pt:Dizzy Gillespie ru:Гиллеспи, Диззи sc:Dizzy Gillespie simple:Dizzy Gillespie sk:Dizzy Gillespie sr:Дизи Гилеспи fi:Dizzy Gillespie sv:Dizzy Gillespie tl:Dizzy Gillespie th:ดิซซี กิลเลสพี tr:Dizzy Gillespie uk:Діззі Гіллеспі yo:Dizzy Gillespie zh:迪齐·吉莱斯皮