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Buddy Collette

When it comes to unsung jazz heroes, Buddy Collette's talents on tenor saxophone, flute, and clarinet are as close to unmatched as it gets. A gifted composer of classical music in addition to his jazz pedigree, Collette continues to fly almost defiantly under the radar of greater renown.

William Marcel Collette was born on August 6, 1921 in the Watts district of Los Angeles. Along with saxophonist Dexter Gordon bassist Charles Mingus, and drummer Chico Hamilton, he helped keep bebop alive in the city's historic Central Avenue neighborhood. Buddy also played an important role with the development of the cool jazz movement. After attending a concert by the legendary trumpeter Louis Armstrong with his parents, a young Collette was taken by the idea of a career in jazz. Satchmo's achievements and lifestyle presented an appealing alternative to the menial and often degrading jobs open to African Americans during the Depression.

n 1933, at the age of 12, Collette formed his first jazz ensemble. The group contained, of all people, a talented teenager named Charles Mingus, who Buddy convinced to switch from cello to bass. Mingus was already an extraordinary talent, but his infamous temper was also firmly in place. In the years that followed, Collette was instrumental in helping Mingus forge better relationships with various musicians and producers. Buddy's gentle, friendly demeanor was the perfect counterpoint to the ornery bassist; they became lifelong friends.

Remembering the action on and off Central Avenue, Collette speaks fondly of the lengthy jam sessions from that district during the 1930s and '40s. During those years the area around Central Avenue was filled with the sounds of swing, and, after World War II, bebop. Collette enlisted in the military during World War II. When he returned to Los Angles, he quickly became one of the city's first bebop players.

In 1949, Collette recorded "It's April" in the backroom studios of Dolphin's of Hollywood. Although "It's April" and other tunes recorded at Dolpin's were receiving radio airplay and selling well, studio owner John Dolphin seldom paid the musicians. This money conflict eventually led to the stabbing and killing of Dolphin by one of his musicians. Buddy left Dolphin behind and overcame tough racial barriers in the industry by becoming the first African American to perform in a television studio band, appearing on Groucho Marx's television show, You Bet Your Life.

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History of Jazz

Banding Together Against Segregation in Los Angeles

Read "Banding Together Against Segregation in Los Angeles" reviewed by Eve Goldberg


Once upon a time, jazz musicians in jny: Los Angeles led a groundbreaking struggle for racial justice and economic opportunity that sent ripples of change across the country. Most of us are aware of the seminal names and events of the civil rights era: Rosa Parks spearheading the Montgomery bus boycott; Martin Luther King leading the Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights; Jackie Robinson integrating the Brooklyn Dodgers, to name a few. But the big national needle-movers ...

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Extended Analysis

Buddy Collette: Four Classic Albums

Read "Buddy Collette: Four Classic Albums" reviewed by David Rickert


Like many of his fellow West Coast musicians, Buddy Collette was proficient on multiple instruments. He could play alto and tenor sax, but tended toward the clarinet and the flute for most of his recording career. His solo records were as light and effortless as most jam form the West Coast tended to be at the time, and they are very pleasant, if a bit toothless at times. There's no doubt that Collette was a main figure of the West ...

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Album Review

The Buddy Collette Big Band: Live at El Camino College

Read "Live at El Camino College" reviewed by Edward Blanco


On May 19, 1990, Buddy Collette assembled a twenty-piece big band for a one-night special performance at El Camino College in Torrance, California. Although it has taken over fifteen years to grace the airwaves for all to enjoy, it is well worth the wait. Though the master tapes were lost, producer David Keller fortunately kept a backup tape, from which this recording was made. Tenor and bandleader Buddy Collette no longer plays as a result of a 1998 stroke, and ...

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Album Review

Buddy Collette: Jazz for Thousand Oaks

Read "Jazz for Thousand Oaks" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Considering his importance, Buddy Collette should be better known than he is. He’s played with Mingus, Rosolino, Gerald Wilson, and (in his most famous gig) Chico Hamilton. He was a major part of the “West Coast Sound” during its heyday in the ‘Fifties, and played on many “woodwind jazz” dates for Contemporary Records. He also suggested to Eric Dolphy (his successor at Hamilton’s) to study the bass clarinet. Outstanding credentials, and still overlooked – but not by everybody. In 1996, ...

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Recording

Backgrounder: Buddy Collette - Man of Many Parts

Backgrounder: Buddy Collette - Man of Many Parts

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

West Coast jazz in the 1950s wasn't exclusively a white enterprise. There was a significant number of black jazz artists in Los Angeles then as well who played in the breezy, contrapuntal style. But in the late 1940s and early '50s, black jazz artists were largely isolated as a result of the segregated locals of the American Federation of Musicians. Black musicians belonged to Local 767 while whites belonged to Local 47. In April 1953, Local 47 was amalgamated with ...

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Video / DVD

Backgrounder: Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds

Backgrounder: Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

One of the finest jazz flute albums is Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds (and the followup, At the Cinema). Recorded in Los Angeles in March 1958, the album for EmArcy was arranged mostly by Pete Rugolo and featured Buddy Collette and Paul Horn (fl); Harry Klee (pic,fl); Shank (pic,fl); Bill Miller (p); Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Richmond (d,cga). All compositions are by Buddy Collette (above) except as indicated: Pony Tale (Paul Horn) Machito (Pete Rugolo) Short Story Flute Diet Improvisation ...

Video / DVD

Buddy Collette: Bossa Nova

Buddy Collette: Bossa Nova

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

I love “jazz samba"—bossa nova albums recorded by American jazz artists in the 1960s. The bossa nova, of course, dates back to Brazil in the late 1950s. Back then, young musicians in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo cooled off the rousing samba with a drier, more laid back and sophisticated approach. Songs had infectious melodies and romantic lyrics delivered in a gentle, hushed singing style. The bossa nova leaped to the U.S. after the U.S. State Department sponsored a ...

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Interview

The Swinging Shepherds

The Swinging Shepherds

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In the final installment of my three-part series on off-the-radar jazz supergroups of the 1950s, I'm turning today to Buddy Collette and His Swinging Shepherds—a West Coast quartet of superb flutists that regrettably recorded only two albums for Mercury. Both albums were arranged by Pete Rugolo, who pulled out all the stops in terms of writing complexity, since the four flutists in question were studio pros who could handle anything: Buddy Collette and Paul Horn (fl), Harry Klee (pic,fl) and ...

Interview

JazzClip: Buddy Collette

JazzClip: Buddy Collette

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Buddy Collette could play just about every reed and woodwind instrument proficiently. As a result, the West Coast musician was called often by studio contractors and session leaders for pop and jazz recordings. But Buddy's ability transcended technique. His sound was full, seductive and brimming with energy. Buddy also was a major civil rights figure, which made his inclusion in the recording studios in the '50s and '60s all the more exceptional. Buddy was responsible for helping to merge the ...

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Interview

Buddy Collette Said It

Buddy Collette Said It

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In addition to being a superb reed and woodwind musician, the late Buddy Collette also was a courageous advocate for civil rights in Los Angeles. Up through the late '40s and early '50s, integration was actively discouraged by the city. Even the musicians' union had two locals—one for whites and another for blacks. By 1950, the jazz scene on Central Avenue had all been shuttered by a police force openly hostile to clubs that catered to black and white patrons ...

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Obituary

Buddy Collette Funeral / Wake / Memorial Services Info: L.A. Jazzman Mentor of Eric Dolphy, Frank Morgan, Charles Lloyd Dies at 89

Buddy Collette Funeral / Wake / Memorial Services Info: L.A. Jazzman Mentor of Eric Dolphy, Frank Morgan, Charles Lloyd Dies at 89

Source: JAZZzology by Richard Watters

On Sunday September 19, 2010, Grammy-nominated Buddy Collette (William Marcel Collette), Los Angeles-based tenor saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist, a major jazz presence on the West Coast jazz and blues scene, passed away aged 89 years...Having notably collaborated in post-war L.A. with the likes of jazz icons, saxophonist Dexter Gordon, drummer Chico Hamilton, and his lifelong friend, bassist Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette helped to erase the color barriers which separated black and white musicians at that time in the California city ...

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Obituary

Buddy Collette (1921-2010)

Buddy Collette (1921-2010)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Buddy Collette, a much in-demand Hollywood jazz and studio musician who appeared on 325 known recording sessions and courageously risked his burgeoning career to spearhead the merger of Los Angeles' segregated musicians' union locals in the early 1950s, died in L.A. on September 19. He was 89. When I spoke to Buddy in July for my book, we talked at length about the segregated climate of Los Angeles in the 1940s and early 1950s, when sub-rosa real estate covenants between ...

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Obituary

Buddy Collette, 1921-2010

Buddy Collette, 1921-2010

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

Buddy Collette, a master of reeds and woodwinds who played a major part in integrating Los Angeles studios and the musicians union, is gone. He died on Sunday at the age of89. Like his contemporary Angelenos Charles Mingus and Dexter Gordon, Collette was an important part of the southern California jazz community long before the invention of the term West Coast Jazz. He played important roles in bands led by Benny Carter, Gerald Wilson, Chico Hamilton and Conte Candoli, among ...

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Obituary

Buddy Collette dies at 89; L.A. jazz saxophone player, bandleader

Buddy Collette dies at 89; L.A. jazz saxophone player, bandleader

Source: Michael Ricci

Collette helped merge the black and white musicians' unions in L.A. and mentored many African American musicians. He was active in preserving and promoting L.A. jazz history. Buddy Collette, a Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist, flautist, bandleader and educator who played important roles in Los Angeles jazz as a musician and an advocate for the rights of African American musicians, has died. He was 89. Collette died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering shortness of breath a day ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Buddy Collette: Four...

Avid Records UK
2016

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Polyhedric Buddy...

Bizarre Planet Entertainment
2008

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Buddy's Best

Fresh Sound Records
2004

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Jazz Heat Bongo Beat

Bizarre Planet Entertainment
2000

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Videos

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