09/21/2024
JazzAmerica, whose mission is 'to perpetuate the jazz tradition,' has been offering tuition-free jazz instruction in Los Angeles since 1994. Our co-founder, Buddy Collette, wanted "...to give the kids the training they need to become good musicians. We've continued the program each summer since then. We try to teach all aspects of musicianship, but the greatest thing about JazzAmerica is that we also teach them how to play together - small bands, section work and big bands. It prepares them to be in the professional world."
At the age of 12, Buddy Collette led his first band. {I got some of my friends and we started rehearsing. Kids will do it. When you get older, everything has to be just right. Kids will say, it doesn't have to be perfect. A lot of people say, 'Practice, practice, practice, and you'll be good. But there's a line that's stronger than that. When you start playing with one more person or tow more, then it's interplay. You have to listen. That's the discovery period and we learned a lot of that early." [from Jazz Generations, the autobiography of Buddy Collette]
