Buddy Catlett
American jazz multi-instrumentalist (1933-2014)

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!
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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.
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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.