Kudos for Multi-Reedman Buddy Collette; Rare Duke Ellington Footage to Be Screened

After more than four decades of musical contributions to the Los Angeles jazz community to his credit, Buddy Collette finally had his day.

In ceremonies at the Biltmore Hotel, Mayor Tom Bradley proclaimed Tuesday “Buddy Collette Day.” Perhaps best known for his associations with Charles Mingus, Chico Hamilton and Gerald Wilson, Collette also received a commendation from the Los Angeles Jazz Society and a lifetime achievement award from the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47.

“I’m thrilled. It’s a boost for me, of course,” was Collette’s immediate response to the accolades. “You see and hear from all these wonderful people, your friends, who are out there listening, saying, ‘Keep going.’ Nothing could be better than that.”

“It’s an interesting feeling,” said Collette, a multi-reedman who appears Saturday at the Valley Cities Jewish Community Center in Van Nuys and Feb. 2 at the Comeback Inn in Venice. “I never looked for this kind of thing, though, of course, I like to work and be appreciated for what I do. I mean, it’s not that, ‘You’re the greatest,’ but that you’ve been here, doing your thing. For me, it’s about playing, teaching, maybe making the music scene in L.A. a little better. It seems to belong to a lot of us from L.A. This award represents the struggles of people doing music for the love, not to make a buck. This is what make us tick.”

Previously unavailable footage of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, as well as more familiar films, will highlight “An Evening of Duke Ellington on Film,” hosted by the Los Angeles chapter of the Duke Ellington Society, Friday at 8 p.m. The films, which will be shown at the Veterans Memorial Center, at Overland Avenue and Culver Boulevard, Culver City, will be culled from the archives of film historian Mark Cantor, who will provide commentary. Tickets, $5. Information: (213) 290-1291.

Percussionist-bandleader Bobby Matos is the recent recipient of Multi-Cultural Entry Grant from the California Arts Council. The leader of the Heritage Ensemble, which plays a variety of jazz-tinged Afro-Cuban music within a polyrhythmical context, is using his grant to produce a new LP, his group’s second.

“We’ve got about five tunes in the can and we’re still working,” says Matos. “Besides the seven core members of the band, I’m using some guest stars. Like yesterday, I brought in some horns, including trombonist Art Velasco, who’s from Poncho Sanchez’s band. “The thing I like about this record is that I’m the producer, so I’m not beholden to anyone creatively.” Matos says he has several companies interested in distributing his project.

Usually quite active with the Heritage Ensemble in area nightspots, Matos says he has been taking a break to work on scripts for “Hot Rhythm,” a cable access show that debuts Feb. 26 on Continental Cablevision.