Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTATE, Buddy(b George Holmes Tate, 22 Feb. '13, Sherman TX; d 10 Feb. 2001, Chandler AZ) Tenor sax in the line of Coleman Hawkins and Herschel Evans. Played in territory bands; replaced Evans in the Count Basie band '39 for nine years; worked for Lucky Millinder, Hot Lips Page, Jimmy Rushing; then resident at Celebrity Club in Harlem for 21 years, finally pushed out by rock music. Recorded regularly all that time, e.g. with Buck Clayton, Rushing on Columbia and Vanguard '50s, own LP Unbroken with his Celebrity Club band was on Pausa; toured Europe and festivals for years, a cheerful and welcome past master of swing wherever he went. He had a duo with trombonist Al Grey (Just Jazz '85 on Uptown, later on Reservoir CD), co-led a band with drummer Bobby Rosengarden at the Rainbow Room, etc. Among many albums: septet Groovin' With Tate '59 on Prestige; with Nancy Harrow on Wild Women Don't Get The Blues c'60 on Candid; Tate-a-Tate '60 on Fantasy with Tommy Flanagan, others; Swinging Like Tate '58 (with Clayton, Dicky Wells, Jo Jones) and with Jay McShann on Going To Kansas City '72, both on MJR (former also on Felsted), The Texas Twister '75 on MJR, later on New World CD; And His Buddies '73 (with Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet, Milt Hinton, Mary Lou Williams, drummer Gus Johnson) and Meets Dollar Brand '77 on Chiaroscuro; Kansas City Woman (aka Swinging Scorpio) '74 with Humphrey Lyttelton on Black Lion; Quartet and Sherman Shuffle on Sackville late '70s; Kansas City Joys on Sonet UK. He played on the Marlowe Morris album Play The Thing '62 on Columbia: Morris (b 16 May '15, NYC; d there c'77) was the nephew of cornettist Thomas Morris, who recorded with Fats Waller; he appeared in the Gjon Mili film Jammin' The Blues '44 with Lester Young, left music, came back '40 and switched to organ; his only album won a French prize. Buddy Tate And The Muse Allstars and Hard Blowin' '78 (both live at Sandy's) and Just Friends were all on Muse, the latter with three tenors, Houston Person and young Nat Simkins making his record debut; The Great Buddy Tate (also played baritone, clarinet) and Scott's Buddy (with Scott Hamilton) '81 on Concord Jazz; The Ballad Artistry Of Buddy Tate '81 on Sackville; with Al Hibbler, Hank Jones, Milt Hilton etc on For Sentimental Reasons '82 on Open Sky; sextet Body And Soul '93 on Milestone with Mike Renzi and Hank Crawford. |