Jazz Reunion : A special joint appearance of two old-time musical greats happens at Wheeler Hot Springs on Sunday.

When first they met in the mid-1930s, drummer Chico Hamilton and saxist Buddy Collette were precocious sprouts at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles. Among their classmates--and band mates--were Dexter Gordon and Charles Mingus, names destined for the jazz annals.

Hamilton and Collette recently released the aptly named “Reunion” on Soul Note records. And when they get together in Southern California this month, including for an afternoon at Wheeler Hot Springs, it will be old-home week.

The two musicians worked together in clubs along L. A.’s famed Central Avenue, a jazz-enriched artery in the ‘40s and ‘50s. They went on to play in Hamilton’s band in the late ‘50s. After Collette, Hamilton hired such up-and-coming saxists as Eric Dolphy and Santa Barbara resident Charles Lloyd.

Meanwhile, Collette--who played at Wheeler last year--established himself as one of the prime reedmen on the West Coast. His vast resume includes work with Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Gerald Wilson and his own student, the innovative L. A. flutist James Newton.

Hamilton moved to New York City in the ‘60s and rarely appears in his native terrain.

Jazz musicians often seem to age well, which may have something to do with the vibrancy of the musical tradition. Hamilton, at 71, is no exception. Over the past few years he has been creeping yet again toward the forefront with his latest group, Euphoria. In the new group, fusion intensity meets variations on be-bop and free-spirited tone poetry. There’s everything but nostalgia.

Apart from the shifting, rumbling rhythmic force of Hamilton, the band features the strong twenty-something talent of saxist Eric Person and the versatile guitar work of Cary DeNigris--someone to watch for.

Musically, as heard on last year’s “Arroyo” (on Soul Note), the group looks simultaneously forward and back. A more raw, intimate sound can be heard on the forthcoming “Trio!” album, sans bass.

In a recent phone conversation, Hamilton was at once good-humored and reflective about the current state of culture. Having circulated in jazz for over half a century, he has accrued wisdom but not at the expense of a sense of adventure.

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Your groups have often been departures from standard formats of groups. Do you naturally hear unusual settings?

I’ve never tried to be different. It just turns out that way. The way I feel and think is just a little different than the average person or average musician might feel or think. Fortunately, it’s been good to me in a sense. I’ve been able to do it, and the acceptance of it has been tremendous.

At this stage of the game in my life, people expect different kinds of things from Chico Hamilton, as opposed to just the general run-of-the-mill stuff. Of course, I couldn’t do that run-of-the-mill stuff anyway, because I’d get bored as hell, you know?

Also, man, I’ve been virtually one of the few guys who have always had guitars going. My band was a guitar-player’s haven. Back when, if they weren’t into rock, most guitar players couldn’t get arrested.

Howard Roberts was the first on the record, but Jim Hall was the first in the group. Then I’ve had Larry Coryell, Gabor Szabo and a lot of other good players.

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Your “Trio!” album is an interesting twist on convention. What’s the story behind that?

The first album I ever recorded, for Pacific Jazz in 1955, was done as a trio with (guitarist) Howard Roberts, (bassist) George Duvivier and myself. The record was just called “Trio” and it was very successful.

Because of the fact that Eric Person, Cary DeNigris and I hit it off so well, I just felt that it was time to do it again. It’s full of music, full of all kinds of grooves. You never would suspect that there was no bass on there.

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Los Angeles in the ‘50s was a pretty rich scene for jazz, wasn’t it?

Well, a lot of things were happening then, a lot of musical energy was coming out of L. A. at that time. In retrospect, what innovative jazz has come out of L. A. in the last 15 or 20 years?

This has nothing to do with my ego. Since Ornette (Coleman) left, since I left, what has there been there that would make people say, “Hey, listen to this?”

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Do you think that’s the result of the environment here?

Well, I’ll tell you one thing: You can starve gracefully out there, as opposed to here in New York (laughs). Man, you better get off your keister here and do something. Out there, it’s cool, you know. Manana. It’s alright if you don’t make it today. You can make it tomorrow.

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You and Buddy Collette were school chums?

I went to school with Buddy, who was from the Watts area, and also with Mingus and Ernie Royal, Jack Kelso, Illinois Jacquet--that was the clique. We were the young giants. We raised all the hell around L. A. We had a band that was monster, man. It was called Al Adams.

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Who’s Al Adams?

He was a bass player, and he was the oldest guy in the band--19 or 20 at that time. We made him the leader because he was the oldest, and he had a car.

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Having been in the slipstream of jazz for so long, how do you think the atmosphere for jazz appreciation is now, compared to earlier times?

Hey, it all depends on how well Bill Clinton blows (laughs).

I tell you, given the fact that the man at least has had pictures taken with that horn in his hand and in his mouth, hopefully he’ll have a compassion toward the arts, among other things.

* WHERE AND WHEN

Chico Hamilton and Buddy Collette, Sunday at 4:30 p.m., at Wheeler Hot Springs, 16825 Maricopa Highway in Ojai. Info: 646-8131.