ABCs of Reeding

Musicians can learn about jazz from reedsman Buddy Collette and join him in a jam session Saturday at the California Afro-American Museum in Exposition Park.

The free event is the first in a series of “Jazz Mentorship” programs sponsored by the city Cultural Affairs Department. Jazz Mentorship events will be held periodically through June and are designed to give musicians, particularly young people, an opportunity to learn from and work with professional jazz artists.

During the two-hour sessions, the professional musicians will perform as well as teach various aspects of music, such as rhythm.

Collette, a saxophonist and one of the top flutists in jazz, has been an influential figure in West Coast jazz since the early 1940s. He began his career playing with fellow Los Angeles musicians Charles Mingus and Red Callender.

He gained prominence in the orchestras of Louis Jordan, Benny Carter and Gerald Wilson, and performed on television and radio during the 1950s. He became the first African American musician to play in a television studio orchestra when he performed on the Groucho Marx show “You Bet Your Life.” He still leads his own band, teaches, composes and performs for films and television.

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