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Buddy Catlett

American jazz multi-instrumentalist (1933-2014)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ1001142 ↗
Source-derived summary

George James Catlett (May 13, 1933 – November 12, 2014), known professionally as Buddy Catlett, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as a bassist.

Early life

Catlett was born in Long Beach, California, and raised in Seattle. A childhood friend of Quincy Jones, he played with Jones in bands led by Charlie Taylor and Bumps Blackwell. He attended Garfield High School.

Career

In 1959, he was hired by Cal Tjader. He joined Jones's band for a European tour. He worked with Louis Armstrong, Bill Coleman, Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, Coleman Hawkins, Junior Mance, Chico Hamilton, Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis.

Personal life

He died of heart problems and other illnesses on November 12, 2014, at age 81. He had been living at the Leon Sullivan Health Care Center in the Central District of Seattle.

Discography

As sideman

1959: The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones - Quincy Jones

1960: From Boogie to Funk – Bill Coleman

1960: Big Brass - Benny Bailey

1960: Boss of the Soul-Stream Trombone - Curtis Fuller

1960: I Dig Dancers - Quincy Jones

1961: The Magnificent Trombone of Curtis Fuller - Curtis Fuller

1961: Rights of Swing - Phil Woods

1962: Goin' to the Meeting – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

1962: Tough Tenor Favorites - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

1962: On My Way & Shoutin' Again!

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Buddy Catlett” is american jazz multi-instrumentalist (1933-2014). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Buddy, Catlett and American, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1933, 2014, 1959, 1960—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1933-05-13. For this dossier, Buddy, Catlett and American is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american jazz multi-instrumentalist (1933-2014)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1001142. VIAF identifies the subject as 7573435. The Library of Congress control number is no92003407. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 2014, 1959 and 1960.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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  2. Expand the search: follow Buddy Catlett primary sources, Buddy Catlett archive and Buddy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Buddy Catlett” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.