You could tell Cat was fighting it with this performance. Such is the nature of the instrument. I've heard the trumpet described as the coil of torture.
Cat is the shit and always will be.............This one is for you pops! I know he was always your boy. From the time I could crawl to your late night "Jam Sessions". Jazz was everywhere in our house during the 50' 60's and 70's.You gave me my love for music! [Heavy Metal}-- For Domenic Acerra- " The Music man" I now know I grew up with the best!!
Great memories of a Cat concert at the University of Illinois around '74 or '75. After a clinic in the Music Dept. he gave a concert at the Auditorium. No widespread appreciation of big band jazz on campus. Sadly the concert was sparsely attended. My favorite memory was when Cat cajoled a couple of students into sitting up and getting their feet off the tops of the seats in front of them. They were sitting like slobs and Cat reminded them they wouldn't do that in their Mom's house. The students got the message and sat up to give the performance the respect it deserved,. Cat was great. I was so thrilled to see it for free just a couple of rows away from the stage.
Cat starts high and goes higher! But like Arturo Sandoval, he was a great all-around trumpeter too. Also, this shows that Duke's band could bop as hard as Bird or Dizzy or anyone else.
I got to hear him at a Arkansas State University clinic in 1975 playing with their jazz band. I was 15 and had been playing the trumpet for 6 years. Didn't know who was. He just blew me away.
So at 14 I was attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, it was my 3rd or fourth year there and that year my major was Jazz Band. So at the beginning of the week we were told we'd be playing with Cat Anderson, and being I had already played in jazz band at High School for one, maybe two years, so I knew a bit about jazz. So when were given a piece of music to work up for that week end's concert and it was in 6/8 I kinda figured it was in Bee Bop style of like a cut time of a 3/4 swing. But no we all rehearsed it as Bossa Nova at a medium bpm. And I was told I'd be soloing near the beginning. So I did my best to work up a Wes Montgomery octave solo thing for the spot I knew I'd be in line for my soloing, because at the time I was big into playing Wes Montgomery stuff. And each day we'd work up the piece at that 60, 70 maybe 90 bpm pace, in Bossa Nova Swing style. So come that Saturday evening and Cat walks on the stage....Ha well damn I shoulda stuck to my guns and practiced it as I initially thought it would be played. Because sure as shootin the Cat came on stage and clicked it off at about 140 maybe 150 bpm and oh hell here we go... and soon into it I get the point...what was it Jackie Gleason used to say...Ah Hummina Ah Hummina Ah Hummina. Yeah my eyes as big as saucers and in near panic mode I stumbled through my best attempt at getting it down all into the ever shrinking space I had to fit it into...and whew when that was done I was just relieved it was all over and I could melt back into the back drop of the rest of the rhythm section...but no soon after again, the finger goes right to me again...oh hell that was all I had worked up and so... well I really have no idea what I played next or again when the point came back to me one more time...all I know is ...I didn't stop shaking for about an hour after the concert. I mean there were nearly a thousand people out there or so it seemed and .... wow what a way to get the baptism of fire. Still to this day I haven't been able to recollect what the song's title was. This does kinda seem like it but only someone very familiar with Cat and his songs would know which of the songs Cat played would have been written in that 6/8time, and I'd really like to know what it was.
@Master5664 Cat gave a clinic at the first convention of the International Trumpet Guild at Indiana University back in the early 70s - I forget what year. He absolutely played a Conn B-flat horn which this looks like. We asked why Conn? "'Cause they give 'em to me." He demod his unusual technique. Used zero pressure on the lips. He could hit those strato notes holding the horn only by the 2nd valve button. He needs no special horn.
I can see your point. Since this was for TV, you don't know how many times it was gone over before the broadcast. Plus, almost all of these musicians have been playing the same tunes for 30+ years. Hard to maintain enthusiasm without just mailing it in. Nevertheless, I dare anyone to duplicate it.
I used to have a great record by Cat, called "Cat on a Hot Tin Horn!" Anyone have it? After Cat left Ellington's band, I used to go see him play at Donte's in North Hollywood, CA. And boy, could he play!!!
Wow, I think this is incredible, Cat is clearly fatigued, but still is having no problem with double c's and higher in this vid, he has backed off on how loud he is playing which I am sure helped but look and listen to the ease.
The reason it looks easy is because he's not really playing the trumpet in a conventional manner. Try this, wipe your lips dry, then curl them way in so that the red, fleshy part of the lips are not visible externally. Then, just using the air in your mouth cavity (you can close off your throat and do this, you don't even need diaphragm support) make some squeaking sounds, really high squeaking sounds with your lips. Anyone can do this. Then, take the kind of mouthpiece that Cat Anderson played and place it over the tiny opening in the lips where the squeaks came out. That's how Cat Anderson played. And that's why it looked like he wasn't exerting himself much. It's because when you're squeaking out notes on curled lips, it doesn't take a lot of air volume to play that way. Anyone can play that way, but everyone else chose not to play that way because it is too limiting and prevents the ability to play with a beautiful sound and to articulate well and forcefully. Cat was a one-trick pony. Anyone who can listen to this video and say that he had a good sound and articulation well is sadly mistaken. And he didn't play particularly lyrically or soulfully, either.
@@artvandelay8090 well lyrically and Soulfully was also not true, while I don’t know if what you say about the lips and Embouchure is Really beneficial because every person has different lip shapes some teeth shapes, different oral cavity sizes, and many more With the “musicality”, cat anderson has his own albums and covers on songs, that he shows more then just high notes, the song he plays screaming is because he is duke Ellington’s lead trumpet, he’s basically doing his job, and the song he is play is call “El Gato” which was written for him to play that high and the fast passage that he has. Though I do respect your opinion on how THIS recording was not at all the best, no fire, no concentration, and musicality was not the focus of this particular gig.
This was during the 70th Birthday tour, and he had to do that every night. He is clearly very tired and trying to pace himself, but he got all the notes out and with a reasonable amount of power.
There is at least one older video of El Gato with the trumpet section all trading solos. Yes, Cat appears to be pretty tired here and playing in a conservative way. In the older video you can hear him playing lead during the whole concert, then playing, “El Gato,” with a far more open tone and much louder… and even higher!
As I`ve said elsewhere on TH-cam the widely and rightly regarded "Best version" of El Gato (The Cat) is to be found on the Prism (UK) CD entitled "The Incomparable Duke Ellington". Highly recommended to all. Chris Pirie
I think you're absolutely right, and no, I can't think of too many trifecta players in those days. Of course, Buddy Rich went with several bands, depending on who had the money.
Mr. Anderson once told me, when I asked about his mouthpiece, "It's like a Jet-Tone," "like" being the operative word. For the record, "Jet-Tone" was the trademarked name for the mouthpiece(s) used by Al Hirt. I always used stock, "off-the-shelf" Bach mouthpieces in case some disaster struck while on the road. For orchestral work, a Bach "1", which required a LOT of air. For most things, I used a Bach 8C, and, for extreme high-register solos and so on, I used a Bach 10-3/4EW. R.I.P., Cat.
I never tried a Bach 1, I use a Bach 1 1/4C on a 459 bore for everything. If I could afford one, I would buy a Adams A4 and then experiment with various mouthpieces for that. But then I am just a hobbyist.
The Schilke that you reference was designed for Bill Chase, I think. I've tried playing on one and could barely get a tone honestly, haha. The smallest that I can play on with any ease is a 3D or so though.
@sdhinote seems like he is thinking of bill chase and his 6a4a Schilke. Bugles also don't make you have a sudden increase increase in range. You're embouchure still has to be able to be able to play the note. Common misconception, or else we'd all be playing G bugles and piccolo trumpets.
not a schilke. I've seen a comparison of his MP to a Schilke 6A4a. the cup is like potatoe chip thin, the diameter of the cup is small the the rim is at least twice as fat as a normal rim
That's Rufus Jones on drums -- the only drummer I can think of who was the man for both Basie AND Ellington. If somebody else filled that exacta, Rufus cashes the trifecta as propeller of Maynard's great original big band. Am I overlooking any drummer(s) in that regard?
@Master5664 Hello? This is nonsense. I knew and studied with Cat for 8 years. He always played what he is playing here: A Conn Connstellation Bb trumpet. He never played on any Schilke mouthpiece. His mouthpieces were custom made by Bert Herrick and another maker in Chicago.
This is hard for a trumpet player to watch when you can feel Cat struggling to find the slot. Not a clean flowing sound, certainly fatigued, but, he was one of the best monster lead players of all time and also why I enjoy playing the 2nd book!
@Master5664 Conn Connstellation with Custom Mouthpiece. He never let anyone see what he used. Go study trumpet history. Cat is the best of High Registry player, that is why he was the Duke's lead horn! Duke was no dummy tp let a bugle boy play trumpet!
My teeth would get loose when playing "like"* that, and I wasn't as big, strong, loud or high as Anderson. Has anyone ever figured out just how much PSI is applied? It's less than a square inch, and you wind up pressing REAL hard at times. *When I say "like", I mean "not qualified to clean Ellington's toilet".
Louis Armstrong basically invented jazz trumpet playing, jazz singing, scat singing, led one of the greatest early jazz bands, had top forty hits, and appeared in movies. Am I missing anything?
@@erniebuck7986sir, music and art is about creativity. This is what people of today lack in today's world. To escape being labeled a cookie cutter of someone else. Please free your mind.
Yeah, I know... ...But, when you do 500 push-ups, 1,000 sit-ups, and run 5 - 10 miles every day, you can put some "serious" air through that pea-shooter.
That's a very thin sound with no core. Articulation is sloppy. It's impossible to have a good sound when you play a mouthpiece that is so tight in diameter and shallow, like a dime with a dent in it. If you look at the mouthpiece that Cat played, it's obvious that Cat had to curl his lips way in in order to play on it without bottoming out. It's a mouthpiece that allows someone to play with lip squeaks on a dry embouchure. You can't get a good sound and articulate well on the horn when you play like that on such a curled-in embouchure. He traded all other trumpet playing attributes for the ability to play the squeaky high notes. And he's the only trumpet player ever who was willing to make that sacrifice. And the consequence of the matter is that he is known for being a squeaky high note player, who could never play lead because he didn't have the big sound and ability to forcefully articulate lead trumpet lines. He was just a specialist who could squeak out extremely high notes. He was not known as a great jazz player, either. Even among the high note guys, he's not thought of as being among the greatest, such as Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Johnny Madrid, those kinds of guys. This video illustrates the extreme degree to which Cat Anderson curls his lips in.
You could tell Cat was fighting it with this performance. Such is the nature of the instrument. I've heard the trumpet described as the coil of torture.
Cat is the shit and always will be.............This one is for you pops! I know he was always your boy. From the time I could crawl to your late night "Jam Sessions". Jazz was everywhere in our house during the 50' 60's and 70's.You gave me my love for music! [Heavy Metal}-- For Domenic Acerra- " The Music man" I now know I grew up with the best!!
Great memories of a Cat concert at the University of Illinois around '74 or '75. After a clinic in the Music Dept. he gave a concert at the Auditorium. No widespread appreciation of big band jazz on campus. Sadly the concert was sparsely attended. My favorite memory was when Cat cajoled a couple of students into sitting up and getting their feet off the tops of the seats in front of them. They were sitting like slobs and Cat reminded them they wouldn't do that in their Mom's house. The students got the message and sat up to give the performance the respect it deserved,. Cat was great. I was so thrilled to see it for free just a couple of rows away from the stage.
Cat starts high and goes higher! But like Arturo Sandoval, he was a great all-around trumpeter too.
Also, this shows that Duke's band could bop as hard as Bird or Dizzy or anyone else.
What a musical treasure. Man was a true talent
I got to hear him at a Arkansas State University clinic in 1975 playing with their jazz band. I was 15 and had been playing the trumpet for 6 years. Didn't know who was. He just blew me away.
サンキュー😉👍🎶
This is absolutely wonderful, thank you so much! Cat is amazing.
Duke's intros are ridiculous, in the most charming of ways.
he said Gato like 10 times lol
I played a con constellation for ten years. That is definitely a constellation
Cat can play. His jazz choruses are great.
So at 14 I was attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, it was my 3rd or fourth year there and that year my major was Jazz Band. So at the beginning of the week we were told we'd be playing with Cat Anderson, and being I had already played in jazz band at High School for one, maybe two years, so I knew a bit about jazz. So when were given a piece of music to work up for that week end's concert and it was in 6/8 I kinda figured it was in Bee Bop style of like a cut time of a 3/4 swing. But no we all rehearsed it as Bossa Nova at a medium bpm. And I was told I'd be soloing near the beginning. So I did my best to work up a Wes Montgomery octave solo thing for the spot I knew I'd be in line for my soloing, because at the time I was big into playing Wes Montgomery stuff. And each day we'd work up the piece at that 60, 70 maybe 90 bpm pace, in Bossa Nova Swing style. So come that Saturday evening and Cat walks on the stage....Ha well damn I shoulda stuck to my guns and practiced it as I initially thought it would be played. Because sure as shootin the Cat came on stage and clicked it off at about 140 maybe 150 bpm and oh hell here we go... and soon into it I get the point...what was it Jackie Gleason used to say...Ah Hummina Ah Hummina Ah Hummina. Yeah my eyes as big as saucers and in near panic mode I stumbled through my best attempt at getting it down all into the ever shrinking space I had to fit it into...and whew when that was done I was just relieved it was all over and I could melt back into the back drop of the rest of the rhythm section...but no soon after again, the finger goes right to me again...oh hell that was all I had worked up and so... well I really have no idea what I played next or again when the point came back to me one more time...all I know is ...I didn't stop shaking for about an hour after the concert. I mean there were nearly a thousand people out there or so it seemed and .... wow what a way to get the baptism of fire. Still to this day I haven't been able to recollect what the song's title was. This does kinda seem like it but only someone very familiar with Cat and his songs would know which of the songs Cat played would have been written in that 6/8time, and I'd really like to know what it was.
@Master5664 Cat gave a clinic at the first convention of the International Trumpet Guild at Indiana University back in the early 70s - I forget what year. He absolutely played a Conn B-flat horn which this looks like. We asked why Conn? "'Cause they give 'em to me." He demod his unusual technique. Used zero pressure on the lips. He could hit those strato notes holding the horn only by the 2nd valve button. He needs no special horn.
Que genialidadddd🎶🎼🎶🎼🎶🎼❤️
This kind of cat actually makes me purr.
Best cat Anderson song ever. Hands down.
Wow, such tone and style!
I want to learn that lick the trumpets have 2:36-3:00. So cool!
the whistle king!
I can see your point. Since this was for TV, you don't know how many times it was gone over before the broadcast. Plus, almost all of these musicians have been playing the same tunes for 30+ years. Hard to maintain enthusiasm without just mailing it in. Nevertheless, I dare anyone to duplicate it.
Que bestia!!! Lastima no haber podido verlo en un concierto en vivo.
Wow!! 😮
That is insane! Sounds like he was a big influence on Maynard. I need to find more of his records.
I used to have a great record by Cat, called "Cat on a Hot Tin Horn!" Anyone have it? After Cat left Ellington's band, I used to go see him play at Donte's in North Hollywood, CA. And boy, could he play!!!
I got it about 50 years ago, the 70 Year BD Ellington record and "Ole" by Maynard...
EXCELLENT !!!
Conn Connstellation ❤️
Wow, I think this is incredible, Cat is clearly fatigued, but still is having no problem with double c's and higher in this vid, he has backed off on how loud he is playing which I am sure helped but look and listen to the ease.
The reason it looks easy is because he's not really playing the trumpet in a conventional manner. Try this, wipe your lips dry, then curl them way in so that the red, fleshy part of the lips are not visible externally. Then, just using the air in your mouth cavity (you can close off your throat and do this, you don't even need diaphragm support) make some squeaking sounds, really high squeaking sounds with your lips. Anyone can do this. Then, take the kind of mouthpiece that Cat Anderson played and place it over the tiny opening in the lips where the squeaks came out. That's how Cat Anderson played. And that's why it looked like he wasn't exerting himself much. It's because when you're squeaking out notes on curled lips, it doesn't take a lot of air volume to play that way. Anyone can play that way, but everyone else chose not to play that way because it is too limiting and prevents the ability to play with a beautiful sound and to articulate well and forcefully. Cat was a one-trick pony. Anyone who can listen to this video and say that he had a good sound and articulation well is sadly mistaken. And he didn't play particularly lyrically or soulfully, either.
@@artvandelay8090 well lyrically and Soulfully was also not true, while I don’t know if what you say about the lips and Embouchure is Really beneficial because every person has different lip shapes some teeth shapes, different oral cavity sizes, and many more
With the “musicality”, cat anderson has his own albums and covers on songs, that he shows more then just high notes, the song he plays screaming is because he is duke Ellington’s lead trumpet, he’s basically doing his job, and the song he is play is call “El Gato” which was written for him to play that high and the fast passage that he has.
Though I do respect your opinion on how THIS recording was not at all the best, no fire, no concentration, and musicality was not the focus of this particular gig.
This was during the 70th Birthday tour, and he had to do that every night. He is clearly very tired and trying to pace himself, but he got all the notes out and with a reasonable amount of power.
There is at least one older video of El Gato with the trumpet section all trading solos. Yes, Cat appears to be pretty tired here and playing in a conservative way. In the older video you can hear him playing lead during the whole concert, then playing, “El Gato,” with a far more open tone and much louder… and even higher!
I think that the best recorded version of "El Gato" is on the 70th birthday album.
Agreed...its mindboggling!!!
@sdartist1 A world of thanks!!!! Whoopee!
As I`ve said elsewhere on TH-cam the widely and rightly regarded "Best version" of El Gato (The Cat) is to be found on the Prism (UK) CD entitled "The Incomparable Duke Ellington". Highly recommended to all. Chris Pirie
maravilha de som
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
Is Cat chewing gum while he plays? He was the man.
Helps with dry mouth. Miles Davis did that a lot too.
impresionante, buenisimos agudos, ahora estoy haciendo su metodo
I think you're absolutely right, and no, I can't think of too many trifecta players in those days. Of course, Buddy Rich went with several bands, depending on who had the money.
2:17 Donna Lee?
Go cat go
Mr. Anderson once told me, when I asked about his mouthpiece, "It's like a Jet-Tone," "like" being the operative word. For the record, "Jet-Tone" was the trademarked name for the mouthpiece(s) used by Al Hirt. I always used stock, "off-the-shelf" Bach mouthpieces in case some disaster struck while on the road. For orchestral work, a Bach "1", which required a LOT of air. For most things, I used a Bach 8C, and, for extreme high-register solos and so on, I used a Bach 10-3/4EW.
R.I.P., Cat.
I never tried a Bach 1, I use a Bach 1 1/4C on a 459 bore for everything. If I could afford one, I would buy a Adams A4 and then experiment with various mouthpieces for that. But then I am just a hobbyist.
The Schilke that you reference was designed for Bill Chase, I think. I've tried playing on one and could barely get a tone honestly, haha. The smallest that I can play on with any ease is a 3D or so though.
@sdhinote seems like he is thinking of bill chase and his 6a4a Schilke. Bugles also don't make you have a sudden increase increase in range. You're embouchure still has to be able to be able to play the note. Common misconception, or else we'd all be playing G bugles and piccolo trumpets.
I like,very good yes i playing trumpet,ha
I used to have a great record by Cat, called "Cat on a Hot Tin Horn!" Anyone have it?
not a schilke. I've seen a comparison of his MP to a Schilke 6A4a. the cup is like potatoe chip thin, the diameter of the cup is small the the rim is at least twice as fat as a normal rim
That's Rufus Jones on drums -- the only drummer I can think of who was the man for both Basie AND Ellington. If somebody else filled that exacta, Rufus cashes the trifecta as propeller of Maynard's great original big band. Am I overlooking any drummer(s) in that regard?
A G bugle is pitched only a minor third above a B-flat horn.
@Master5664 Hello? This is nonsense. I knew and studied with Cat for 8 years. He always played what he is playing here: A Conn Connstellation Bb trumpet. He never played on any Schilke mouthpiece. His mouthpieces were custom made by Bert Herrick and another maker in Chicago.
This is hard for a trumpet player to watch when you can feel Cat struggling to find the slot. Not a clean flowing sound, certainly fatigued, but, he was one of the best monster lead players of all time and also why I enjoy playing the 2nd book!
the other maker was Charlie Allen :)
Famous line from donna lee can fit in almost any good solo :p.
@Master5664 i think you're confusing cat with bill chase, who played a schilke 16A4a
Chase played a 6a4a
el himno felino
@Master5664 Conn Connstellation with Custom Mouthpiece. He never let anyone see what he used. Go study trumpet history. Cat is the best of High Registry player, that is why he was the Duke's lead horn! Duke was no dummy tp let a bugle boy play trumpet!
el gato damian vive en bogota
My teeth would get loose when playing "like"* that, and I wasn't as big, strong, loud or high as Anderson. Has anyone ever figured out just how much PSI is applied? It's less than a square inch, and you wind up pressing REAL hard at times. *When I say "like", I mean "not qualified to clean Ellington's toilet".
what is PSI ?
Pounds per square inch
Anything about Cat I like. And he's better than the much-vaunted Louis Armstrong ever thought of being.
2 different styles my guy.
Louis Armstrong basically invented jazz trumpet playing, jazz singing, scat singing, led one of the greatest early jazz bands, had top forty hits, and appeared in movies. Am I missing anything?
@@doyourbstTrue - but I love Louis, too. Whomever invented painting owes nothing to Picasso.
@eukum-fh5ziNot a thing. Why is it always assumed/the accepted wisdom that the first will always be the best?
@@erniebuck7986sir, music and art is about creativity. This is what people of today lack in today's world. To escape being labeled a cookie cutter of someone else. Please free your mind.
2020??? lol
2:17 he quotes donna lee!
Yeah, I know...
...But, when you do 500 push-ups, 1,000 sit-ups, and run 5 - 10 miles every day, you can put some "serious" air through that pea-shooter.
Jesus christ these comments are old
No me convence...
Terrible
That's a very thin sound with no core. Articulation is sloppy. It's impossible to have a good sound when you play a mouthpiece that is so tight in diameter and shallow, like a dime with a dent in it. If you look at the mouthpiece that Cat played, it's obvious that Cat had to curl his lips way in in order to play on it without bottoming out. It's a mouthpiece that allows someone to play with lip squeaks on a dry embouchure. You can't get a good sound and articulate well on the horn when you play like that on such a curled-in embouchure. He traded all other trumpet playing attributes for the ability to play the squeaky high notes. And he's the only trumpet player ever who was willing to make that sacrifice. And the consequence of the matter is that he is known for being a squeaky high note player, who could never play lead because he didn't have the big sound and ability to forcefully articulate lead trumpet lines. He was just a specialist who could squeak out extremely high notes. He was not known as a great jazz player, either. Even among the high note guys, he's not thought of as being among the greatest, such as Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Johnny Madrid, those kinds of guys. This video illustrates the extreme degree to which Cat Anderson curls his lips in.