Buddy Catlett was a great jazz bassist, but he also played many other instruments. He was born George James Catlett on May 13th, 1933 (or maybe 1943, some sources differ) in Long Beach, California, but was raised in Seattle. There were some musicians in his family (his brother and his cousin). Buddy started studying clarinet and sax, but he then changed for contrabass after an illness (tubeculous pleurisy).
CHARLES TAYLOR ORCHESTRA
In 1947, Quincy Jones and Buddy Catlett joined a semi-professional band led by sax player Charles Taylor:
Some time later, most of the members joined Bumps Blackwell in his Bumps Blackwell Junior Band.
|
CHARLES TAYLOR ORCHESTRA #? |
1947-? |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charles Taylor † sax | Billy Johnson bass | Grace Holden piano | Quincy Jones trumpet | Buddy Catlett † sax | Oscar Holden Jr sax |
Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê | Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê | Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê | Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê | ||
Major Pigford trombone | Harold Redmond drums | + others unknown to me. Help! |
Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê | Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestraê |
Some time later, most of the members joined Bumps Blackwell in his Bumps Blackwell Junior Band.
| Other info on members of Charles Taylor Orchestra (I know up to 9 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (1): | Quincy Jones |
| Not enough info (7): | Oscar Holden Jr, Grace Holden, Billy Johnson, Waymond Jones, Major Pigford, Harold Redmond, Charles Taylor |
ROBERT BUMPS BLACKWELL ORCHESTRA
His first professional work was around 1950 with Bumps Blackwell Orchestra, playing sax, but due to an illness (pleurisy), he switched to bass. While he was in the orchestra, his mate Quincy Jones was a member too.
This was the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band when Buddy Catlett and Quincy Jones were members:
Sometime later, vocalist Ernestine Anderson joined the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band:
In 1956, Buddy joined Horace Henderson touring with him for over a year. He then joined Johnny Smith.
During 1958 and 1959, Buddy was part of the house band at Melody´s Lounge club in Denver.
Then, in 1959, he joined Cal Tjader Group.
After moving to New York, he rejoined Quincy Jones playing with his fabulous Quincy Jones Orchestra.
This was the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band when Buddy Catlett and Quincy Jones were members:
|
ROBERT BUMPS BLACKWELL ORCHESTRA #? |
? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
||
Robert Bumps Blackwell † vibraphone | Tommy Adams vocals, drums | Billy Johnson bass | Quincy Jones trumpet | Charles Taylor † sax | Buddy Catlett † sax |
|
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
êCharles Taylor Orchestra |
Major Pigford trombone | Harold Redmond drums |
Sometime later, vocalist Ernestine Anderson joined the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band:
|
ROBERT BUMPS BLACKWELL ORCHESTRA #? |
? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Bumps Blackwell † vibraphone | Tommy Adams vocals, drums | Ernestine Anderson vocals | Billy Johnson bass | Quincy Jones trumpet | Charles Taylor † sax |
Buddy Catlett † sax | Major Pigford trombone | Harold Redmond drums |
| Other info on members of Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestra (I know up to 10 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | Ray Charles, Quincy Jones |
| Not enough info (7): | Tommy Adams, Ernestine Anderson, Robert Bumps Blackwell, Billy Johnson, Major Pigford, Harold Redmond, Charles Taylor |
In 1956, Buddy joined Horace Henderson touring with him for over a year. He then joined Johnny Smith.
During 1958 and 1959, Buddy was part of the house band at Melody´s Lounge club in Denver.
Then, in 1959, he joined Cal Tjader Group.
After moving to New York, he rejoined Quincy Jones playing with his fabulous Quincy Jones Orchestra.
QUINCY JONES ORCHESTRA
In 1959, Quincy Jones was contracted for assembling a band for the musical 'Free and Easy'. After the show finished, he took the band for a short European tour in 1960:
The arrangements were usually done by Quincy Jones, Al Cohn, Nat Pierce and Ernie Wilkins.
This is the Quincy Jones Big Band in June 1960, as appearing in the live album Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 1:
The arrangements were usually done by Quincy Jones, Billy Byers, Al Cohn, Melba Liston, Ernie Wilkins and Phil Woods.
This was the Quincy Jones Big Band lineup in March 1961, as appearing in the live album The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones Live!:
Next bands for Buddy Catlett were the Chico Hamilton Group and the joint band by Eddie ´Lockjaw´ Davis and Johnny Griffin, but don´t know details about lineups.
|
QUINCY JONES ORCHESTRA #? |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quincy Jones arranger, leader | Les Spann guitar | Buddy Catlett † bass | Patti Bown † keyboards | Benny Bailey † trumpet | Leonard Johnson trumpet |
Floyd Standifer † trumpet | Clark Terry trumpet | Jerome Richardson † sax | Phil Woods sax | Sahib Shihab † sax | Budd Johnson † sax |
Porter Kilbert † sax | Jimmy Cleveland † trombone | Quentin Jackson † trombone | Melba Liston † trombone | Ake Persson † trombone | Julius Watkins french horn |
Joe Harris drums |
The arrangements were usually done by Quincy Jones, Al Cohn, Nat Pierce and Ernie Wilkins.
This is the Quincy Jones Big Band in June 1960, as appearing in the live album Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 1:
|
QUINCY JONES ORCHESTRA #? |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quincy Jones arranger, leader | Les Spann guitar | Buddy Catlett † bass | Patti Bown † keyboards | Benny Bailey † trumpet | Roger Guerin trumpet |
Clyde Reasinger trumpet | Floyd Standifer † trumpet | Jerome Richardson † sax | Phil Woods sax | Sahib Shihab † sax | Harold McNair † sax |
Porter Kilbert † sax | Jimmy Cleveland † trombone | Quentin Jackson † trombone | Melba Liston † trombone | Ake Persson † trombone | Julius Watkins french horn |
Joe Harris drums |
The arrangements were usually done by Quincy Jones, Billy Byers, Al Cohn, Melba Liston, Ernie Wilkins and Phil Woods.
This was the Quincy Jones Big Band lineup in March 1961, as appearing in the live album The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones Live!:
|
QUINCY JONES ORCHESTRA #? |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quincy Jones arranger, leader | Les Spann guitar | Buddy Catlett † bass | Patti Bown † keyboards | Benny Bailey † trumpet | Freddie Hubbard † trumpet |
Paul Cohen trumpet | Rolf Ericson trumpet | Phil Woods sax | Eric Dixon † sax | Sahib Shihab † sax | Budd Johnson † sax |
Joe Lopes sax | Jimmy Cleveland † trombone | Curtis Fuller trombone, trumpet | Melba Liston † trombone | Ake Persson † trombone | Julius Watkins french horn |
Stu Martin drums |
| Other info on members of Quincy Jones Orchestra (I know up to 73 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Freddie Hubbard |
| To be covered (71): | Pepper Adams, Patti Austin, Benny Bailey, John Bello, Michael Boddicker, Patti Bown, Oscar Brashear, Ollie E Brown, Vivian Cherry, Pete Christlieb, Jimmy Cleveland, Paul Cohen, Johnny Coles, Art Davis, Eric Dixon, Nathan East, Rolf Ericson, Paul Faulise, Curtis Fuller, Gary Grant, Mickey Gravine, Don Grusin, Roger Guerin, Joe Harris, Jerry Hey,... up to 71 musicians. |
Next bands for Buddy Catlett were the Chico Hamilton Group and the joint band by Eddie ´Lockjaw´ Davis and Johnny Griffin, but don´t know details about lineups.
BABS GONZALES GROUP
Around 1962, jazz singer Babs Gonzales assembled this superb lineup:
A live album was released, Live at Small´s Paradise (later reissued with different titles and track listings).
Around this time, Buddy joined the mythical Count Basie Orchestra since 1961, appearing in several albums, as we can read in the discography below. He stayed with Basie during four more years.
In early 1965, Buddy joined Coleman Hawkins Group for some months, then joining Louis Armstrong.
|
BABS GONZALES GROUP #? |
1962 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Babs Gonzales † vocals | Buddy Catlett † bass | Horace Parlan piano | Clark Terry trumpet | Johnny Griffin † sax | Ben Riley drums |
A live album was released, Live at Small´s Paradise (later reissued with different titles and track listings).
| Other info on members of Babs Gonzales Group (I know up to 6 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | Johnny Griffin, Horace Parlan, Ben Riley, Clark Terry |
| Not enough info (1): | Babs Gonzales |
Around this time, Buddy joined the mythical Count Basie Orchestra since 1961, appearing in several albums, as we can read in the discography below. He stayed with Basie during four more years.
In early 1965, Buddy joined Coleman Hawkins Group for some months, then joining Louis Armstrong.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG GROUP
Buddy Catlett remained with Louis Armstrong from 1965 to 1969.
This was the Louis Armstrong Group around 1965:
In July 1965, we can find this lineup for Louis Armstrong All Stars:
They can be found as a bonus program for the live DVD Live in Stockholm 1962 (the DVD features a concert from May 1962, plus a bonus TV performance from July 1965).
This was a different lineup for Louis Armstrong Group:
After that, he relocated in Seattle and gave up on tours, but still played locally.
In the 90s, Buddy played in a band called Local 493 Reunion Band, with his old mate Floyd Standifer.
Buddy Catlett passed away on November 12th, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. He was 81.
15 BANDS (WITH 54 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
5 ALBUMS FOR 3 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
4 COLLECTIVE ALBUMS:
7 SESSIONS (FOR 6 ARTISTS):
This was the Louis Armstrong Group around 1965:
|
LOUIS ARMSTRONG GROUP #? |
1965 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Louis Armstrong † trumpet, vocals | Jewel Brown vocals | Buddy Catlett † bass | Billy Kyle † piano | Eddie Shu † sax | Tyree Glenn † trombone |
Danny Barcelona † drums |
In July 1965, we can find this lineup for Louis Armstrong All Stars:
|
LOUIS ARMSTRONG GROUP #? |
1965 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Louis Armstrong † trumpet, vocals | Jewel Brown vocals | Buddy Catlett † bass | Billy Kyle † piano | Buster Bailey † clarinet | Tyree Glenn † trombone |
Danny Barcelona † drums |
They can be found as a bonus program for the live DVD Live in Stockholm 1962 (the DVD features a concert from May 1962, plus a bonus TV performance from July 1965).
This was a different lineup for Louis Armstrong Group:
|
LOUIS ARMSTRONG GROUP #? |
? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Louis Armstrong † trumpet, vocals | Buddy Catlett † bass | Marty Napoleon piano | Joe Muranyi † clarinet | Tyree Glenn † trombone | Danny Barcelona † drums |
| Other info on members of Louis Armstrong Group (I know up to 28 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (8): | Trigger Alpert, Louis Armstrong, Barney Bigard, Sid Catlett, Henderson Chambers, Eddie ´Lockjaw´ Davis, Tyree Glenn, Gerald Wiggins |
| Not enough info (19): | Buster Bailey, Danny Barcelona, Jewel Brown, Billy Cronk, Joe Darensbourg, Tubby Hall, Mort Herbert, Earl Hines, Peanuts Hucko, Kenny Johns, Billy Kyle, Velma Middleton, Johnny Mince, Joe Muranyi, Marty Napoleon, Arvell Shaw, Eddie Shu, Jack Teagarden, Trummy Young |
After that, he relocated in Seattle and gave up on tours, but still played locally.
In the 90s, Buddy played in a band called Local 493 Reunion Band, with his old mate Floyd Standifer.
Buddy Catlett passed away on November 12th, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. He was 81.
15 BANDS (WITH 54 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Louis Armstrong Group | 7 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Count Basie Orchestra | 14 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Robert Bumps Blackwell Orchestra |
| |||||||||
| Buddy Catlett Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Eddie ´Lockjaw´ Davis Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Babs Gonzales Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Chico Hamilton Group |
| |||||||||
| Coleman Hawkins Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Horace Henderson Orchestra |
| |||||||||
| Quincy Jones Orchestra | 8 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Local 493 Reunion Band |
| |||||||||
| Brian Nova Group | 4 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Johnny Smith Group |
| |||||||||
| Charles Taylor Orchestra |
| |||||||||
| Cal Tjader Group |
| |||||||||
5 ALBUMS FOR 3 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Benny Bailey Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Curtis Fuller Group | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Phil Woods Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
4 COLLECTIVE ALBUMS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS |
| VVAA | 3 RECORDINGS:
|
7 SESSIONS (FOR 6 ARTISTS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Ham Carson Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bill Coleman Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Ella Fitzgerald Group | 2 COMPILATIONS:
| |||||||||
| Frank Foster Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Lee Harper Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Frank Wess Orchestra | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
RELATED WEBSITE LINKS: 1
Official site(s) - tell them you saw the link here:
RELATED MUSICIANS:
Buddy Catlett mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Eric Dixon (26)
Frank Wess (25)
Quincy Jones (22)
Charlie Fowlkes (21)
Urbie Green (21)
Albert Aarons (20)
Count Basie (20)
Frank Foster (20)
Marshall Royal (20)
Sonny Cohn (19)
Henry Coker (19)
Freddie Green (19)
Sonny Payne (19)
Benny Powell (19)
Phil Woods (19)
Julius Watkins (18)
Flip Ricard (17)
Louis Armstrong (16)
Patti Bown (16)
Clark Terry (16)
Danny Barcelona (15)
Grover Mitchell (15)
Jerome Richardson (15)
Benny Bailey (14)
Billy Byers (14)
Jimmy Cleveland (14)
Tyree Glenn (14)
Thad Jones (14)
Melba Liston (14)
Les Spann (14)
Sahib Shihab (13)
Snooky Young (13)
Quentin Jackson (12)
Joe Newman (12)
Ernie Royal (12)
Budd Johnson (11)
Ake Persson (11)
Don Rader (11)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 28/November/2014 - Last modified on: 28/November/2014. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com
Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.
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