Over the course of his nonpareil 55-year career, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie exerted a profound influence on society as both a jazz innovator and an ambassador of tolerance and goodwill.

He brought bebop and Afro-Cuban rhythms into the cultural mainstream. But he also appeared at Walker Art Center in the late 1980s, not to play but to talk about the healing impact of music, noting in passing that he belonged to the Baha'i faith, which he explained embraces the spiritual unity of all humans and believes in the legitimacy of many messengers, including Jesus, Muhammad and Buddha.

Around that time, Gillespie founded the United Nations Orchestra, a big band that provided another expression of spiritual unity by enlisting personnel from around the globe. Its pianist was a 23-year-old Panamanian wunderkind named Danilo Perez.

Flash forward 21 years. Perez is now a world-renowned composer and musician, with nine albums under his own name and literally hundreds of others recorded with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Wayne Shorter. Perez never forgot Gillespie's example. On Saturday night at Ted Mann Concert Hall, he will perform a program he calls "Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy," featuring a resplendent septet handpicked on the basis of its vast cultural diversity and ridiculous level of talent.

"I've been thinking about this for many years: bringing together people of different cultures for the healing power of music and social change," the pianist said excitedly from his home in Boston. "Right now we are using Dizzy's music as our theme, but slowly I hope to build a repertory of music from everyone in the band, and to add band members from China and Korea and Africa. Dizzy is the starting point and the momentum, like turning the keys to start the car and stepping on the gas. The music we create ourselves will keep it going."

The core is Perez's trio, which includes Lebanese percussionist Jamey Haddad and Indian-American alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, whose other projects have ranged from avant-garde, polymath jazz with pianist Vijay Iyer to Carnatic classical music.

"We have a real organic combustion," says Perez. "It's very intense; we can have this 6/8 time that has jazz and swing elements, and there is also this chantlike groove that has some South Indian flavor, some Mexican flavor."

Rounding out the group is lyrical Puerto Rican tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, Iraqi trumpeter Amir ElSaffar, U.S. bassist Ben Street and Puerto Rican drummer Adam Cruz -- all first-call musicians in New York City.

With this group, Perez is finding new surprises in Gillespie's music. "One thing I found fascinating was the different interpretations and patterns that develop," he said. "Some tunes I have played with him too many times, so I am kind of the weak link. But it is so much fun when we jump in.

"You'll see. The audience will be laughing and the healing will be there. You hear Rudresh blowing on a song like 'Salt Peanuts.' It's still 'Salt Peanuts,' but now it comes with some basmati rice."