Fred Katz & His Music

Fred Katz (born February 25, 1919) is an American composer, songwriter, conductor, cellist, pianist, and professor. In jazz, a principal contribution of Katz has been, as Leonard Feather noted, “to put the cello to full use both in arco and pizzicato solos.” Oscar Pettiford had already indicated the considerable jazz potential of plucked (pizzicato) cello, but with Oscar, the instrument remained

secondary to his primary instrument, the bass. Katz was the first musician to utilize all of the cello in jazz as his chief instrument in that idiom.

Katz opinion about his own contribution can be glimpsed from his own statement: “I would like to correct an impression about me that apparently is gaining some acceptance among jazz musicians and critics. That impression is that I am not basically a jazz musician. When they say my music isn’t jazz, my answer is, ‘what composition are they talking about?’ I’m not concerned with conforming to anybody’s concept of what they would like to hear. With all that is in me, I’m trying to write music in the universal sense. If sometimes a ‘jazz’ phrase makes sense in a composition, I’ll write it.”

Fred Katz

and His Music

Soulº Cello

4-5-6 Trio

& His Jammers

(3 Lps On 2 Cds)

Tracks

Cd. 1

1 Country Gardens (Grainger)  2:46

2 Satori (Katz)  3:44

3 Andante (Henderson)  2:36

4 Circus (Alter, Russell)  3:20

5 Wayfaring Stranger (trad.)  2:30

6 Time after Time (Styne, Cahn)  3:51

7 The Vidiot (Katz)  2:05

8 Lament of the Oracles (Katz)  3:49

9 I’m Glad There is You (Dorsey, Madeira)  3:09

10 The Toy That Never Was (Katz)  3:33

11 Intermezzo (Prevost)  2:52

12 Come with Me (Marx)  2:50

13 Symphony [bonus tracks] (Lawrence, Alstone)  2:54

14 While the Music Plays On [bonus tracks] (Fien, Mills, Heim)  4:22

15 Four, Five, Six (Pisano)  3:46

16 Sophisticated Lady (Ellington, Parish, Mills)  4:15

*

 

Cd. 2

1 Isn’t It Romantic (Rodgers, Hart) 

2 Delia (Gaylor) 

3 Like Someone in Love (Burke, VanHeusen) 

4 Krelch (Gaylor) 

5 Mountain Air (Katz) 

6 Perdido (Tizol) 

7 I’m Gettin’ Sentimental Over You (Washington, Bassman) 

8 Feeling the Blues (Vinnegar) 

9 Elegy (Katz) 

10 Imagination (Burke, VanHeusen) 

11 Vintage 57 (Vinnegar, Norris) 

12 Old Folks (Robinson, Hills) 

13 The Blow Is to Know (Katz) 

14 Sometimes I’m Happy (Youmans, Caesar) 

15 Ruby My Dear (Monk) 

16 Dixie, Why Not ? (Katz) 

17 Dexterity (Parker) 

All tracks arranged & conducted by Fred Katz

 
 Personnel

[Cd. 1, # 1-12] Fred Katz & His Music - Soul° Cello (Decca DL 9202)

Fred Katz - cel
Paul Horn - fl, cl & as [# 1, 4-7 & 11]
Buddy Collette - as  [# 1, 4-7 & 11]
Harry Klee - fl  [# 1, 4-7 & 11]
Bill Green - fl  [# 1, 4-7 & 11]
Calvin Jackson - p
Ann Stockton - hrp
John Pisano - g
Hal Gaylor - b
Chico Hamilton - dr

Recorded at the Decca Studios, Hollywood, California ; January 15 & 22 [# 1, 4-7 & 11], 1958

[Cd. 1, # 13 & 14] John Pisano & Billy Bean - Makin' It (Decca DL 9206)

Fred Katz - p [# 13] & cel [# 14]
Calvin Jackson - p [# 14]
John Pisano - g
Billy Bean - g
Gene Estes - vb
Hal Gaylor - b
Larry Bunker [# 13] & Chico Hamilton - dr [# 14]
Alexander Neiman, Irving Manning - vl [# 14]
Raphael Kramer - cel
Edgar Lustgarten - cel [# 14]

Recorded same place as above ; January 24 [# 13] & 30, 1958

[Cd. 1, # 15-16 & Cd. 2, # 1-7] Fred Katz - "4-5-6 TRIO" (Decca DL 9213)

Fred Katz - cel
John Pisano - g
Hal Gaylor - b
Recorded Same place as above ; May 26, 1958
[Cd. 2, # 8-17] Fred Katz & His Jammers (Decca DL 9217)
Fred Katz - cel
Don Fagerquist - tp
Pete Candoli - tp [# 9, 14, 16 & 17]
Gene Estes - vb
Leroy Vinnegar - b
Frank Butler - dr [# 9, 14, 16 & 17]
Billy Higgins - dr [# 11, 12 & 15]
Lenny McBrowne - dr [# 8, 10 & 13]

Recorded same place as above ; March 12, 1959 [# 8, 10 & 13] ; May 26, 1959 [# 11, 12 & 15] ; & August 28, 1959 [# 9, 14, 16 & 17]