Buddy Collette
| Buddy Collette | |
|---|---|
Buddy Collette in 1985
Photo: Brian McMillen |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Marcel Collette |
| Born |
August 6, 1921 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 19, 2010 (aged 89) Los Angeles |
| Genres | Jazz, West Coast jazz, cool jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, educator |
| Instruments | Flute, saxophone, clarinet |
| Labels | Contemporary, Challenge, Mode, EmArcy |
| Associated acts | Chico Hamilton |
William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flautist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.
William Marcel Collette was born in Los Angeles and raised in Watts. His father played piano and his mother sang. He took up alto saxophone when he was 12. His first group included Britt Woodman on trombone and Charles Mingus on bass. At 17 he started playing professionally.
After serving as a U.S. Navy band leader, he played with the Stars of Swing (Woodman, Mingus, and Lucky Thompson), Louis Jordan, and Benny Carter.
In 1949, he was the only black member of the band for You Bet Your Life, a TV and radio show hosted by Groucho Marx. In the 1950s, he worked as a studio musician with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, and Nelson Riddle. In 1955 he was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet, playing chamber jazz flute with guitarist Jim Hall, cellist Fred Katz, and bassist Carson Smith. He also taught, and his students included Mingus, James Newton, Eric Dolphy, Charles Lloyd, and Frank Morgan. He helped merge an all-black musicians' union with an all-white musicians' union.
With Chet Baker
With Louis Bellson
...
Wikipedia