William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson (September 12, 1916 – April 29, 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter known for his long period as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and for his wide range (more than five octaves), especially his playing in the higher registers.[1]

Biography [ edit ]

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Anderson lost both parents when he was four years old, and was sent to live at the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston, where he learned to play trumpet. Classmates gave him the nickname "Cat" (which he used all his life) based on his fighting style. He toured and made his first recording with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a small group based at the orphanage. After leaving the Cotton Pickers, Anderson played with guitarist Hartley Toots, Claude Hopkins' big band, Doc Wheeler's Sunset Orchestra (1938–1942), with whom he also recorded, Lucky Millinder, the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, Sabby Lewis's Orchestra, and Lionel Hampton, with whom he recorded the classic "Flying Home No. 2".[2]

Anderson's career took off, however, in 1944, when he joined Duke Ellington's orchestra at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia. He quickly became a central part of Ellington's sound. Anderson was capable of playing in a number of jazz styles, but is best remembered as a high-note trumpeter. He had a big sound in all registers, but could play in the extreme high register (up to triple C) with great power (he was able to perform his high-note solos without a microphone, while other members of a big band were usually amplified for their solos). Wynton Marsalis called him "one of the best" high-note trumpeters.[3] More than just a high-note trumpeter, though, Anderson was also a master of half valve and plunger mute playing. He played with Ellington's band from 1944 to 1947, from 1950 to 1959, and from 1961 to 1971, with each break corresponding to a failure to lead his own big band.

After 1971, Anderson settled in the Los Angeles area, where he continued to play studio sessions, to perform with local bands (including Louie Bellson's and Bill Berry's big bands), and to tour Europe. He died of cancer in 1981.[4]

Discography [ edit ]

Cat Anderson Plays at 4 AM (Columbia, 1958)

(Columbia, 1958) Cat on a Hot Tin Horn (Mercury, 1958)

(Mercury, 1958) A Chat with Cat Anderson (Columbia, 1963)

(Columbia, 1963) Cat Speaks (Black & Blue, 1977)

(Black & Blue, 1977) Plays W.C. Handy (Black & Blue, 1978)

(Black & Blue, 1978) Americans Swinging in Paris (EMI, 2002)

(EMI, 2002) Cat Speaks: The Definitive Black and Blue Sessions (Black & Blue, 2002)[5]

As sideman [ edit ]

With Gene Ammons

With Louie Bellson

The Louis Bellson Explosion (1975)

(1975) Ecue Ritmos Cubanos (1977)

(1977) Sunshine Rock (1978)

With Duke Ellington

1951 Masterpieces by Ellington

1953 Ellington Uptown

1953 The 1953 Pasadena Concert

1954 Ellington '55

1956 A Drum Is a Woman

1956 Duke Ellington Presents...

1956 First Annual Connecticut Jazz Festival

1956 Historically Speaking: The Duke

1957 Indigos

1957 Such Sweet Thunder

1958 Black Brown and Beige

1958 Newport 1958

1959 Festival Session

1959 Jazz Party

1959 Live at the Blue Note

1960 Blues in Orbit

1961 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke

1961 S.R.O.

1962 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra Featuring Paul Gonsalves

1962 Money Jungle

1963 Afro-Bossa

1963 The Great Paris Concert [Atlantic]

1963 The Symphonic Ellington

1964 All Star Road Band Vol. 1-2

1964 Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins

1964 Ellington '65

1964 Harlem

1965 1965 Revisited 3

1965 Concert in the Virgin Islands

1966 Soul Call

1967 ...And His Mother Called Him Bill

1967 Ella & Duke at the Côte D'Azur

1967 Francis A. & Edward K.

1967 The Duke Ellington's Far East Suite

1968 Second Sacred Concert

1968 Yale Concert

1969 Standards: Live at the Salle Pleyel

1970 New Orleans Suite

1972 Up in Duke's Workshop

1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts (December 1944)

1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts (January 1946)

1985 All Star Road Band Volume 2 (Doctor Jazz)

With Ella Fitzgerald

Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957)

(1957) Ella at Duke's Place (1965)

With Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton and His Jazz Giants 77 (CBS MasterWorks, 1977)

(CBS MasterWorks, 1977) All-Star Band at Newport (1978)

(1978) Live: 50th Anniversary Concert (1978)

With Johnny Hodges

With Quincy Jones

1973 You've Got It Bad Girl

1976 I Heard That!

With others

References [ edit ]



