Youngster Tunes Up on Beale Street for a Music Career : Memphis: Fledgling harmonica player spends summer at B.B. King’s nightclub, picking up tips and occasionally sharing stage with the big boys.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  Like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” 9-year-old Brody Buster is definitely not in Kansas anymore.

The fledgling blues harmonica player is spending the summer at what his mother calls “Blues Camp 101,” sharing a stage whenever he can with the big boys on Beale Street--and at B.B. King’s nightclub, no less.

“I’m learning a lot here,” he said before a recent performance. “I’ve learned licks and stuff like that.”

And although he couldn’t explain what a “lick” is, it was clear when he launched into a harmonica run with the club’s house band that he has begun to feel what it means.

Brody began playing the harmonica two years ago and his family is going all out trying to make him a star.

“I never had any lessons. I just listened to records and people on the street,” he said. “I want to become famous and get a recording contract and everything.”

His mother, Janet, and sister, Jodie, 8, are spending the summer with him in Memphis where he hangs around for hours waiting for a chance to sit in with the King B’s or other Beale Street bands.

His father, Curtis, is back home in Paola, Kan., a stop in the road near Kansas City, but comes down on the weekends when he can.

“They might call me up (on stage). They might not,” the sandy-haired youngster said as he killed time with a group of Memphis youngsters who pick up tips dancing for tourists on the street. One was Rarecas Bonds, 12, who was featured in a Beale Street scene in “The Firm.” Rarecas specializes in back flips.

His wait to perform, which began before 8 p.m., ended shortly after midnight when he was called on stage for a one-song display.

Janet Buster, waiting inside, entertained her daughter by helping her draw pictures on a bar napkin.

“We’re dedicated to seeing how far he can take this,” she said. “There are nights I would just as soon stay home, but he wants to be on Beale Street every night.”

Although Beale Street is Brody’s stop for the summer, he also has made his way on stage to jam with various groups in Nashville, Tenn., Branson, Mo., and the Kansas City area, according to a publicity packet his mother keeps on hand.

Bob Harding, manager of King’s club, said he often gives young musicians a chance to perform.

King plays at the Memphis club several times a year. He wasn’t around for Brody’s performance, but the youngster got to meet him in June when invited to take part in a pre-opening party for another King club in Los Angeles.

Harding said Brody shows a natural feel for the harmonica.

“The more he plays, the better he’ll get,” he said. “He’s got a little time yet.”

Age isn’t all that important anyway when it comes to playing the blues, Harding said.

The headline performer for the night, the one who actually got paid, was Jake Anderson, a 14-year-old blues guitar player from Austin, Tex.