[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 11, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1051-E1052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO BENNY CARTER, BUDDY COLLETTE, AND GERALD WILSON--THREE GREAT 
                                ARTISTS

                                 ______


                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 1996

  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the Library of Congress 
in honoring Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, and Gerald Wilson--three of 
America's most talented jazz musicians. Last week the Library of 
Congress honored these wonderful, Los Angeles-based artists by 
sponsoring three concerts featuring their music.


                              benny carter

  Bennett Lester ``Benny'' Carter was born in New York, in 1907 and 
studied piano as well as trumpet and saxophone with his mother and 
sister in Manhattan. Although his parents sent him to Wilberforce 
University in Ohio to study theology, jazz gradually became more 
important to him. One summer he joined a jazz band led by Horace 
Henderson, brother of bandleader Fletcher Henderson, and never looked 
back. While perfecting his craft, Carter studied under the likes of 
Duke Ellington, the Charlie Johnson Band, Fletcher Henderson, Chick 
Webb, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers. He was given the nickname 
``gentleman of jazz'' for his gracious manner and reverence for jazz.
  In 1933 Benny Carter began leading his own groups, and in 1935 he 
went to Europe to tour and arrange for the BBC dance band. During this 
time he also worked with Coleman Hawkins and Django Reinhardt. Carter 
returned to the States in 1938 and led various bands throughout the 
early 1940's which gave exposure to a number of talented artists, 
including Miles Davis and Max Roach. In 1943, he began to concentrate 
on film scoring and produced brilliant work for a number of films over 
the years, including ``Buck and the Preacher,'' ``A Man Called Adam,'' 
and ``The Hangman.'' Carter also composed music for the television show 
``M-Squad.'' Cater's greatest works include `Blues in My Heart,'' 
``Blue Star,'' and ``When Lights are Low.''
  Still going strong at nearly 90 years of age, you'll find the 
gentleman of jazz performing at concerts and festivals all over the 
world and helping younger musicians through his jazz workshops. Carter 
has received numerous honors, including an honorary doctorate from 
Princeton in 1974 and designation as an ``American Jazz Master'' by the 
National Endowment for the Arts.


                             buddy collette

  The great flutist and composer William ``Buddy'' Collette was born in 
South Central Los Angeles and grew up as a childhood friend of the 
magnificent bassist Charles Mingus. As teens, Collette and Mingus would 
play for tips as they rode the Red Line Trolley cars.
  He first gained national prominence in the 1950's, playing flute with 
drummer Chico Hamilton's Quintet. Collette was also the first African-
American artist to play in a TV studio orchestra and helped to 
integrate the all-black Musicians Union Local 767 into the previously 
all-white Local 47. Buddy has played with many other jazz greats, 
including Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Benny Carter, 
Gerald Wilson, and Quincy Jones. Buddy's works such as ``Blue Sands'' 
have become jazz standards.

  In addition to composing, arranging, and performing, Buddy is 
committed to touching lives through education. He has devoted a great 
deal of time to teaching students at all levels about the rich history 
of jazz and the contributions made by the pioneers of the music. His 
numerous activities include assembling a volunteer faculty of 
professional musicians for an afterschool program for at-risk junior 
high students, and working closely with the Los Angeles Department of 
Cultural Affairs and the Oral History program at UCLA in preserving and 
presenting the history of jazz in Los Angeles. Later this year, 
Collette will join the faculty of California State University, Long 
Beach, as a professor of jazz performance.
  In 1994, Buddy joined other performing arts professionals to found 
JazzAmerica, a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation to support and serve 
as an advocacy organization for jazz music and musicians across the 
country. He formed the corporation because he believes that jazz is the 
crown jewel of American culture and needs an institutional structure of 
presenters and performing arts venues. JazzAmerica's programs include a 
jazz studies course for junior and senior high school music teachers, a 
series of low-priced Young People's Jazz Concerts at The Music Center 
of Los Angeles County, and in-school concerts and teaching residencies 
by master jazz artists.


                             gerald wilson

  Gerald Wilson was born in 1918 in Shelby, MS. At age 14 he moved with 
his family to Detroit and began studying jazz in high school. In 
Detroit, Wilson was exposed to the great bandleaders Duke Ellington, 
Don Redman, Erskine Tate, Earl Hines, and Charlie Barnett. From 1939 to 
1942 he worked with Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra as a trumpeter, 
composer, and arranger. He then moved to Los Angeles and performed with 
Les Hite and Benny Carter. Wilson formed his own orchestra in 1944 and 
performed regularly on the famous Central Avenue jazz scene. After a 
brief stint with his own orchestra, he composed music and performed 
with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Billie Holiday. 
During the 1950's Wilson wrote for television and movies, appearing in 
``An American in Paris'' with Gene Kelly and ``The Outsider'' with Tony 
Curtis.
  In 1961 Wilson began working with his orchestra again, naming it the 
``Gerald Wilson Orchestra for '60s'' for the decade in which he was 
performing. This band, which is remembered for its magnificent 
performance at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival, included saxophonists 
Harold Land and Teddy Edwards, guitarist Joe Pass, and pianist Jack 
Wilson. He also wrote for motion pictures and television, and was 
nominated for two Grammys. Wilson currently conducts his ``Orchestra of 
the '90s,'' which is made up of Los Angeles-based musicians, including 
his award-winning son Anthony Wilson and grandson Eric Otis.
  It was not enough for Wilson to perfect his own craft; he believed in 
passing on his knowledge to younger generations. In the past 25 years, 
he has taught at the California State University campuses of Los 
Angeles and Northridge, and more recently at UCLA. Students enrolled in 
Wilson's courses benefit from the unique opportunity to learn from a 
jazz

[[Page E1052]]

master who has played and shared many experiences with other great 
artists.
  Mr. Speaker, Carter, Collette, and Wilson have been colleagues, 
collaborators, and friends for most of their lives. Together these men 
have created a legacy of powerful music and a commitment to education 
of which America and indeed the world can be proud. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in saluting these giants of jazz.

                          ____________________