William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson was born on September 12, 1916, and died on April 29, 1981. He was an American jazz trumpeter who was part of Duke Ellington's orchestra for a long time. He was known for his ability to play a wide range of notes, particularly very high notes in the altissimo register.

Biography

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Anderson lost both of his parents when he was four years old. He was sent to live at the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston, where he learned to play the trumpet. His classmates gave him the nickname "Cat," which he used for the rest of his life. They chose the name because of the way he fought.

Anderson toured and made his first recording with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a small group based at the orphanage. Later, he played with several musicians and bands, including guitarist Hartley Toots, Claude Hopkins’s big band, Doc Wheeler’s Sunset Orchestra (1938–1942), Lucky Millinder, the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, Sabby Lewis’s Orchestra, and Lionel Hampton. With Hampton, he recorded the famous song "Flying Home No. 2."

Anderson’s career grew quickly in 1944 when he joined Duke Ellington’s band at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia. He became an important part of Ellington’s music. Anderson was a skilled musician who could play many styles of jazz. He was especially known for his ability to play very high notes, called the "altissimo" range. He could play up to a "triple C" (the highest Bb note on a piano keyboard) with strong sound. Unlike other musicians in big bands, he did not need a microphone to perform his high-note solos. Wynton Marsalis, a famous musician, said Anderson was "one of the best" high-note trumpeters.

Anderson was not only known for his high notes. He was also highly skilled at playing the trumpet with special techniques, such as using a half valve and a plunger mute. Dan Morgenstern, a jazz writer, said Anderson was "the [Ellington] band’s Number One utility trumpeter," meaning he could replace other trumpet players when needed. He played with Ellington’s band from 1944 to 1947, from 1950 to 1959, and from 1961 to 1971. During breaks from these periods, he briefly led his own big band. In addition to playing the trumpet, Anderson was a talented arranger and composer. He performed his own songs, such as "El Gato" and "Bluejean Beguine," with Ellington. He also arranged other songs for his own band, including those on his 1959 record album for Mercury, Cat on a Hot Tin Horn.

After 1971, Anderson moved to the Los Angeles area. He continued to play in music studios, performed with local bands (including those led by Louie Bellson and Bill Berry), and toured in Europe. He died from brain cancer in 1981.

Discography

• Cat Anderson Plays at 4 AM (Columbia [France, EMI], 1958)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Horn (Mercury, 1958)
• A Chat with Cat Anderson (Columbia [France, EMI], 1963)
• Cat Speaks (Black & Blue, 1977)
• Plays W.C. Handy (Black & Blue, 1978)
• Americans Swinging in Paris (EMI, 2002; CD reissue of the two French Columbia albums)
• Cat Speaks: The Definitive Black and Blue Sessions (Black & Blue, 2002)

• Free Again (Prestige, 1971)

• The Louis Bellson Explosion (Pablo, 1975)
• Ecue Ritmos Cubanos (1977)
• Sunshine Rock (1978)

• 1951 Masterpieces by Ellington (Columbia)
• 1952 At The Crystal Gardens (Hep, 2CD, 2011)
• 1953 Ellington Uptown (Columbia)
• 1953 The 1953 Pasadena Concert (GNP Crescendo, 1986)
• 1954 Ellington '55 (Capitol)
• 1955 Ellington Showcase (Capitol)
• 1956 A Drum Is a Woman (Columbia)
• 1956 Duke Ellington Presents… (Bethlehem)
• 1956 First Annual Connecticut Jazz Festival (IAJRC, 1993)
• 1956 Historically Speaking (Bethlehem)
• 1956 Ellington at Newport (Columbia)
• 1957 All Star Road Band (Doctor Jazz, 1983)
• 1957 Ellington Indigos (Columbia)
• 1957 Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia)
• 1958 Black Brown and Beige (Columbia)
• 1958 Newport 1958 (Columbia)
• 1959 Festival Session (Columbia)
• 1959 Jazz Party (Columbia)
• 1959 Live at the Blue Note (Roulette)
• 1960 Blues in Orbit (Columbia)
• 1961 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (Columbia)
• 1961 S.R.O. (LRC, 1989)
• 1962 Featuring Paul Gonsalves (Fantasy, 1985)
• 1963 Afro-Bossa (Reprise)
• 1963 The Great Paris Concert (Atlantic, 1973)
• 1963 The Symphonic Ellington (Reprise)
• 1964 All Star Road Band Volume 2 (Doctor Jazz, 1985)
• 1964 Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins (Reprise)
• 1964 Ellington '65 (Reprise)
• 1964 Harlem (Pablo Live, 1985)
• 1965 1965 Revisited 3 (Affinity, 1991)
• 1965 Concert in the Virgin Islands (Reprise)
• 1965 Ellington '66 (Reprise)
• 1966 Soul Call (Verve)