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In the accompanying snapshot of legendary singer Frank Sinatra and arranger Gordon
Jenkins, Collette captures a rare moment during the studio rehearsal for NBC's 1966,
television special "Sinatra: A Man and His Music." Looking back more than ten-years
earlier, Buddy Collette had begun what would become a long and trusted career
performing with Frank Sinatra on numerous recordings, national and international
tours, and network television specials.
Having been introduced by Sinatra's
long-time arranger Nelson Riddle, Collette once recalled a touching moment from one of their earlier
tours, stating "(Sinatra) got on the plane carrying a portable record player that played (45 rpm records) … Frank put it in back of my headrest, picked-out a record, and cranked-up the volume. It was a tune of mine called Moonrail."
For NBC's Man and His Music special, Sinatra showcased the arrangements and conducting of both Riddle and Jenkins,
including on several solo and duet performances with daughter Nancy. In his individual performances, throughout the program,
Frank Sinatra's featured songs would include "Fly Me to the Moon," "Luck Be a Lady," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,"
"My Kind of Town," "Moonlight in Vermont," "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You," and a Gordon Jenkins arranged medley
of "Just One of Those Things," "My Heart Stood Still," "But Beautiful," and "When Your Lover Has Gone."
Having launched his earlier, musical career singing with the big band orchestras of both Harry James and
Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra's unique vocal phrasings and powerfully emotional performances could consistently
be traced back to his love of American jazz. When Collette would later describe another of his many experiences from their years of performing together, and the mutual respect they had formed, he recalled "There was once an article in the European magazine Melody Maker, where Frank talked about six jazz players he liked. My name was in there."
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In this 1967 snapshot taken on the set of the CBS series "The Danny Kaye Show," Collette captures an endearing moment when the show's studio trumpet-section joins together for a group photo with legendary artist Louis Armstrong. Pictured from left-to-right, are trumpeter Jimmy Salko, trumpeter Don Fagerquist, Louis Armstrong, trumpeter Zeke Zarchy, and trumpeter Manny Stevens. First airing on September 25, 1963, The Danny Kaye Show was created as a showcase for the multi-talented Kaye, including a selection of comedy sketches, one-on-one audience segments, and featured musical sections.
By this point in the now twenty-year history of television broadcast, increasing numbers of African-American musical artists and performers were being showcased on programs originating through all three of the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC). Additionally, within the broader music industry itself, the extent to which racial crossover had evolved had become even clearer when leading trade publications such as Billboard Magazine had previously eliminated its separate charting of "rhythm and blues" music, as early as 1964. In Buddy Collette's case, his personal commitment to uniting the racially segregated music community in Los Angeles had begun even earlier, in 1948, shortly before he himself would become the first African-American hired to the Groucho Marx Show orchestra (1949).
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Beginning in 1948, and continuing for several years
to follow, saxophonist Buddy Collette and his long-time,
childhood friend, bassist Charles Mingus had already
taken their first, major steps toward the amalgamation
of Hollywood's staunchly segregated, professional
musician's unions. When recalling that seminal period
in his career, Collette stated "I had been a member
of the musician's union since I was sixteen or seventeen.
The black local (Local 767) was on Central Avenue,
at Seventeenth Street, and the white local (Local
47) was on Georgia Street, near Figueroa." Through
the continued dedication of both Collette and Mingus,
as well as through the support of numerous, other,
local and national artists of the time, including
such legendary figures as Nat "King" Cole, Josephine
Baker, and Frank Sinatra, the two professional unions
in Los Angeles were finally merged into one, in
April 1953.
In the accompanying photo of Buddy Collette and bassist Jimmy Bond, Collette can be seen extending his continued support to the effort for cultural unity, during a 1974 concert event benefiting the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), held at Twentieth Century Fox Studios. When once describing his thoughts on the educational role of causes such as the ACLU, and in summarizing what had clearly been many of his own experiences throughout his lifetime, Collette recalled "I didn't see myself as that political; I still thought of myself as a musician. But once you see the struggles and you hear all the stories, whether you are white or black, it might mean something a little different."
Each of the images in this exhibition, whether a studio-publicity photo or personal snapshot, serves as a timeless instrument of social memory, bringing to light a remarkable, musical and professional career. Throughout his earliest training under the tutelage of numerous, leading, African-American, jazz artists from within the Los Angeles community of Watts, and continuing with the support of a network of classically-trained, white, studio-musicians who would first begin recognizing his exceptional talents as early as 1940, the many accomplishments and challenges of Buddy Collette's lifetime have made possible a unifying, new voice in the Hollywood entertainment industry that continues today.
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