Buddy Collette

William Marcel "Buddy" Collette was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

William Marcel Collette was born in Los Angeles on August 6, 1921. He was raised in Watts, surrounded by people of all different ethnicities. He lived in a house built by his father in an area with cheap, plentiful land. The neighborhood in which he grew up was called Central Gardens area. For elementary school, he attended Ninety-sixth Street School because it allowed black students.

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 played piano and his mother sang. In middle school, he began playing 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. When he was fifteen, Collette became a part of the Woodman brothers' band, along with Joe Comfort, George Reed, and Jessie Sailes.