Buddy Collette

William Marcel Collette was born in Los Angeles on August 6, 1921. He grew up in Watts, surrounded by diverse people. He lived in a house built by his father on cheap land. The neighborhood was Central Gardens. He attended 96th Street School for black students. Collette, was initially inspired to be a musician by the Woodman brothers, Britt, Coney, and Bill, whose father had schooled them to be professional musicians by grade school. He and others who lived in the area, such as Charles Mingus, looked up to them as they could play multiple instruments and sight read, forming the sound of a much larger band. His family also encouraged him along. They had friends who played instruments that would come to the Collette house and jam. His parents also took him to see Louis Armstrong in concert which had a great impact on him. Collette began playing piano at age ten, at his grandmother's request. His love for music came not only from his community, but from his parents—his father learned to play the alto sax in his adult years and his mother sang lead vocals in the church choir. Though he continued piano for two years, he "didn`t like it" and switched to his brother`s alto sax which he practiced hard on despite not having formal tutelage. Later he reflected that his early piano training did give him a good foundation to make it in the grade school band. During middle school, he began formally learning the saxophone. That same year, he formed his first band. They played the music of Dootsie Williams, which Collette's parents had received while at a party. The following year, Collette started a band with Ralph Bledsoe and Raleigh Bledsoe. Together they played for less than a dollar each at parties put on by people in the area on Saturday nights. Following this, Collette started a third group which eventually included Charles Mingus on bass. He and Mingus became very good friends. Collette was a factor in getting Mingus to switch from cello to bass, as well as his development on the instrument. In Buddy`s first band at age twelve, Mingus was playing bass tuba and cello, but Collette wanted a stringed bass in the group he was putting together as the popularity of bands using it was on the rise. He told Mingus, "If you get a bass, you`ll have a job." meaning his chances in music would be high. In later years, Mingus would often ask Collette for guidance and advice. When he was fifteen, Collette became a part of the Woodman brothers' band, along with Joe Comfort, George Reed, and Jessie Sailes. One of his first professional gigs with the group was at The Follies; an L.A. burlesque club known for acts such as Joe Yule and showgirls such as Lili St. Cyr == Music career ==

Collette attended Los Angeles` Jordan High School and lead the school`s dance band. During his first couple years of high school, Collette began traveling to Los Angeles in order to form connections with other musicians. At the Million Dollar Theatre, he and his band competed in a battle of the bands, but lost to a band that included Jackie Kelson, Chico Hamilton, and Al Adams. Afterwards, Collette was asked to join the winning band, making twenty-one dollars per week. Later, Charles Mingus joined this band. Collette took up clarinet around the last year of high school. During this time he decided to be a professional musician. At the age of 19, Collette started taking musical lessons from Lloyd Reese, who also taught Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, and many others. Collette credits Reese with teaching him and the other musicians how to manage themselves in the music world. He studied with Reese for two years on sax, clarinet and piano. "I owe a lot to him. He taught me chords, progressions, scales, harmony etc. Before I went to Lloyd I was just playing what I heard. I would listen for the chord, and then play it. I soon found out this didn`t work all the time, because there were many piano players who didn`t know the tunes either." In 1941, age 20, he joined Cee Pee Johnson`s band for a year until enlisting in the navy. During World War II, Collette served with the U.S. Navy band attached to the pre-flight school at St. Mary's College. Led by Marshal Royal, it was one of two regimental bands of African-American musicians. His bandmates included Jerome Richardson and Jackie Kelson. He worked his way up to co-leader next to Marshal Royal and attained the rank of Musician 1st Class. According to Collette, he formed the second dance band at St. Mary's after he refused to join the Bombardiers on baritone sax, and along with most of the remaining fellows in the marching band realized that the dance band service was much easier than general musicians duty. Also in his band were Orlando Stallings on saxophone; James Ellison, Myers Franchot Alexander and Henry Godfrey on trumpet; George Lewis on first trombone; Ralph Thomas on bass tuba; and a few fellows he recalls only by nickname: "the Indian" on bass; "the Spider" and "the Crow" on tenor saxophones. It was during his time leading these dance bands that he began to hone his arranging and composition skills, as they often needed material to play. Both dance bands played gigs at the Stage Door Canteen, the USO in San Francisco that featured 24-hour service and entertainment, as featured acts and as back-ups to the stars that were performing there, usually unannounced, when they were in the San Francisco area. In 1948 he recorded his first record under his name with Dolphin`s of Hollywood In 1949, Collette was the first black musician to be hired by a nationally broadcast TV studio orchestra, on You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. It has been noted that the conductor of the orchestra, Jerry Fielding, received hate-mail for standing by Collette. Collette's job and job security on the popular television show signaled that opportunities were becoming more readily available for black musicians by the 1950s. In the 1950s, he worked as a studio musician with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, and Nelson Riddle. Fielding formed a 13-piece dance band in 1952 as professional outlet for studio musicians and Buddy joined. He recorded with The Jerry Fielding Orchestra during the 1950`s. He remained with the band until forming his own group in 1954 which included Larry Bunker, Ernie Freeman, and Buddy Woodson. The group went largely unnoticed by record companies and didn`t record. After a successful two year spell with the Chico Hamilton group, Collette began his recording career as a group leader. His firsts included Tanganyika (co-led with Chico Hamilton) and Man of Many Parts. He continued his work as a studio musician in Hollywood while performing as sideman and with his own units sporadically throughout the 1960`s. in 1961, he made his first trip to Europe and recorded in Italy with the Basso-Valdambrini Band. He was active in music into the latter part of the century, working for jazz groups, screen productions and backing pop acts as a studio musician. In small jazz groups, he recorded an album with Japanese tenor saxophonist Konosuke Saijo and sax great Budd Johnson (with Gus Johnson, George Duvivier, Mundell Lowe and Nat Pierce) in Japan in 1978 and with his student James Newton in 1988. In 1996 he led and performed in The Buddy Collette Big Band; in a group that included many of his old associates such as Chico Hamilton, Fred Katz, Britt Woodman, Gerald Wilson and Jackie Kelson. A stroke suffered in 1998 however caused him to give up playing professionally. == Musical collaborations and the Chico Hamilton Quintet ==

Increasingly successful in the late 1940`s, Collette was called upon frequently for collaborations and recordings on alto saxophone with musicians such as Ivie Anderson, Johnny Otis, Gerald Wilson, Ernie Andrews, and Charles Mingus. Most notably, Collette and Mingus formed their first band in 1933, the driving force that convinced Mingus to switch from cello to bass. He went on to form a short-lived yet cooperative band in 1946 with Mingus called "The Stars of Swing". In 1948, he and reedman Bill Green started a Sunday jazz session out of the Crystal Tea Room in L.A. for young players who enjoyed jazz. The group gained national prominence and became one of the most influential West Coast jazz bands, synonymous with the laidback "cool jazz" of the 1950s. In the quintet, Collette played the reeds (tenor and alto saxophones, the flute and clarinet). Later that year, Collette collaborated with Horn in his own flutist ensemble, the "Swinging Shepherds", a four-flute-lineup. In November 1958, Langston Hughes read poems to accompaniment by Collette and his band at the Screen Directors Theatre in Los Angeles. Collette was both present in the orchestra and helped write some of the music for Charles Mingus` infamous Town Hall Concert in 1962. Mingus asked his old friend to help with composing after trombonist and arranger Jimmy Knepper left following Knepper`s altercation with Mingus. == Involvement in music unions ==

Around the early 1900s, Los Angeles was primarily divided into two music unions: Local 47, a union for white musicians, and Local 767, a union for black musicians. Buddy Collette and several other black musicians including Bill Green, Charles Mingus, Britt Woodman and Milt Holland made concentrated efforts to merge the two unions to one, color-blind union in the early 1950s. Initially, the merge existed as an interracial symphony performing at the Humanist Hall on Twenty-third and Union. This group received a great deal of publicity as iconic figures such as "Sweets" Edison, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra provided public support of the interracial group. The success of this group led to the coalition of the two segregated locals. Buddy Collette eventually made the board of Local 767 along with Bill Douglass in the vice-president's position. After three years of working with Leo Davis and James Petrillo, the presidents of Local 767 and Local 47 respectively, the two groups became what Collette calls an "amalgamation" of the two in 1953. This merging signified greater opportunity for these musicians in both careers and insurance benefits, as well as great racial advancement. Up to forty locals have since replicated this success elsewhere, which has allowed the talent of a musician as opposed to his/her race determine success. == Death, legacy and influence ==

Collette died in Los Angeles of heart failure at the age of 89. Collette was active in education and taught a number of other musicians. His students included Mingus, James Newton, Eric Dolphy, Charles Lloyd, Sonny Criss and Frank Morgan. Collette joined the faculty at California State University, Pomona campus in 1992 where he was a conductor of the jazz and combo band. Collette held important faculty positions at CSULA, CSULB, California State University Dominguez Hills, and was a musical director for the jazz band program at Loyola Marymount University. He was designated a Los Angeles Living Cultural Treasure by the city of Los Angeles in the late 1990s, and, in the early 2000s, he was composing music for JazzAmerica, a band of teen jazz virtuosos he co-founded. In 1996, when the Library of Congress commissioned Collette to write and perform a special big-band concert to highlight his long career, he brought together some old collaborators to perform with him, including Chico Hamilton. Collette's career and accomplishments were rewarded by the Los Angeles Jazz Society where he received a special commendation, and with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47, for his musical contributions spanning four decades. Collette's legacy lives on through the JazzAmerica program, a non-profit organization which he co-founded in 1994 that aims at bringing jazz into classrooms in middle school and high schools in the greater Los Angeles area tuition-free. == Discography ==

As leader/co-leader • Tanganyika (Dig, 1956) • Man of Many Parts (Contemporary, 1956) • Cool, Calm & Collette (ABC-Paramount, 1957) • ''Everybody's Buddy'' (Challenge, 1957) • Porgy & Bess (Interlude, 1957) • Nice Day with Buddy Collette (Contemporary, 1957) • Flute Fraternity (Mode, 1957) with Herbie Mann • Aloha To Jazz Bel Canto Records, 1957 (one side by The Polynesians) • Jazz Loves Paris (Specialty, 1958) • Marx Makes Broadway, (VSOP, 1958) • ''Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds'' (EmArcy, 1958) • Buddy Collette Septet – Polynesia (Music & Sound, 1959) • At the Cinema! (Mercury, 1959 • The Polyhedric Buddy Collette (Music Records, 1961) • Buddy Collette in Italia (Ricordi, 1961) with Basso-Valdambrini's Band • The Soft Touch of Buddy Collette (Music Records, 1962) • The Buddy Collette Quintet (Studio West, 1962) with Irene Kral • The Girl from Ipenema (Crown, 1964) • Warm Winds (World Pacific, 1964) with Charles Kynard • Buddy Collette on Broadway (Survey, 1966) • Now and Then (Legend, 1973) • Block Buster (RGB, 1974) • Flute Talk (Soul Note, 1988) • Jazz for Thousand Oaks (UFO Bass, 1996) • ''Live from the Nation's Capital'' (Bridge, 2000) • Live at El Camino College (UFO Bass, 2006) As sideman With Harry Babasin • The Jazzpickers (Mercury/EmArcy, 1957) With Chet Baker • Blood, Chet and Tears (Verve, 1970) With Louis Bellson • Music, Romance and Especially Love (Verve, 1957) • Louis Bellson Swings Jule Styne (Verve, 1960) With Brass Fever • Brass Fever (Impulse!, 1975) • Time Is Running Out (Impulse!, 1976) With James Brown • Soul on Top (King, 1969) With Red Callender • ''Swingin' Suite'' (Crown, 1957) • The Lowest (MetroJazz, 1958) With Conte Candoli • Little Band Big Jazz (Crown, 1960) With Benny Carter • Aspects (United Artists, 1959) • Additions to Further Definitions (Impulse!, 1966) With June Christy • Something Cool (Capitol, 1955) • Ballads for Night People (Capitol, 1959) With Nat King Cole • L-O-V-E (Capitol, 1965) With Miles Davis and Michel Legrand • Dingo (Warner Bros., 1991) With Sammy Davis Jr. • The Wham of Sam (Reprise, 1961) With Ella Fitzgerald • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (Verve, 1959) With Gil Fuller • Gil Fuller & the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra featuring Dizzy Gillespie (Pacific Jazz, 1965) With Ted Gärdestad • Blue Virgin Isles (Epic, 1978) With Jimmy Giuffre • The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic, 1956) With John Graas • Jazzmantics (Decca, 1958) • Coup De Graas (EmArcy, 1958) With Chico Hamilton • Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette (Pacific Jazz, 1955) • The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet (World Pacific, 1955 [1960]) • Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi (Pacific Jazz, 1956) • Ellington Suite (World Pacific, 1959) • The Three Faces of Chico (Warner Bros., 1959) With Eddie Harris • How Can You Live Like That? (Atlantic, 1976) With Jon Hendricks • ¡Salud! João Gilberto, Originator of the Bossa Nova (Reprise, 1961) With Freddie Hubbard • The Love Connection (Columbia, 1979) With Quincy Jones • Go West, Man! (ABC Paramount, 1957) With Fred Katz • Soul° Cello (Decca, 1958) • Folk Songs for Far Out Folk (Warner Bros., 1958) With Stan Kenton • Kenton / Wagner (Capitol, 1964) With Barney Kessel • Easy Like (Contemporary, 1956) • Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By (Contemporary, 1957) • Carmen (Contemporary, 1958) With Wade Marcus • Metamorphosis (Impulse!, 1976) With Les McCann • Les McCann Sings (Pacific Jazz, 1961) With Rod McKuen • Beatsville (HiFi Records, 1959) With Carmen McRae • Carmen for Cool Ones (Decca, 1958) • Portrait of Carmen (Atlantic, 1968) With Charles Mingus • The Complete Town Hall Concert (Blue Note, 1962 [1994]) With Blue Mitchell • Bantu Village (Blue Note, 1969) With Lyle Murphy • Four Saxophones in Twelve Tones (GNP, 1955) With Oliver Nelson • Zig Zag (Original Motion Picture Score) (MGM, 1970) • Skull Session (Flying Dutchman, 1975) • Stolen Moments (East Wind, 1975) With Red Norvo • Ad Lib (Liberty, 1957) • Music To Listen To Red Norvo By (Contemporary, 1957) With Dory Previn • On My Way to Where (United Artists, 1970) • Mythical Kings and Iguanas (United Artists, 1971) • Dory Previn (Warner Bros., 1974) With Don Ralke • Bongo Madness (Crown, 1957) With Buddy Rich • ''This One's for Basie'' (Norgran, 1956) With Little Richard • Mr. Big (Joy, 1965 [1971]) With Shorty Rogers • The Fourth Dimension in Sound (Warner Bros., 1961) With Pete Rugolo • The Music from Richard Diamond (EmArcy, 1959) • Behind Brigitte Bardot (Warner Bros., 1960) With Horace Silver • ''Silver 'n Wood'' (Blue Note, 1974) • ''Silver 'n Brass'' (Blue Note, 1975) • The Continuity of Spirit (Silverto, 1985) With Frank Sinatra • ''Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!'' (Capitol, 1961) • L.A. Is My Lady (Qwest, 1984) With Gábor Szabó and Bob Thiele • Light My Fire (Impulse!, 1967) With The Three Sounds • Soul Symphony (Blue Note, 1969) • Persistent Percussion (1960, Kent, KST 500) With Mel Tormé • ''Comin' Home Baby!'' (Atlantic, 1962) With Stanley Turrentine • Everybody Come On Out (Fantasy, 1976) With Gerald Wilson • You Better Believe It! (Pacific Jazz, 1961) • Lomelin (Discovery, 1981) With Nancy Wilson • Broadway – My Way (Capitol, 1964) == References ==