Buddy Tate

One of the more individual tenors to emerge from the swing era, the distinctive Buddy Tate came to fame as <a href="spotify:artist:7ah9Qnmd9ylOjot0DedCQa">Herschel Evans</a>' replacement with <a href="spotify:artist:2jFZlvIea42ZvcCw4OeEdA">Count Basie's Orchestra</a>. Earlier he had picked up valuable experience playing with Terrence Holder (1930-1933), <a href="spotify:artist:2jFZlvIea42ZvcCw4OeEdA">Count Basie</a>'s original Kansas City band (1934), <a href="spotify:artist:6lDzuLTyt5ewY3FLfX1smg">Andy Kirk</a> (1934-1935), and Nat Towles (1935-1939). With <a href="spotify:artist:2jFZlvIea42ZvcCw4OeEdA">Basie</a> a second time during 1939-1948, Tate held his own with such major tenors as <a href="spotify:artist:05E3NBxNMdnrPtxF9oraJm">Lester Young</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:71M7lckOooBtdsLfD1qqqa">Don Byas</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6HzzZqLS76PGbKaw6dIMHZ">Illinois Jacquet</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6cvs1RggkRFSyKPVCBT3cx">Lucky Thompson</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:23hRv3SqLMrj4i3b3tfUu4">Paul Gonsalves</a>. After a period freelancing with the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:3GAp4nVDIMnsYFZnD9DWSz">Hot Lips Page</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4tdVYQWfsBth04tc1mmQ23">Lucky Millinder</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5oSx3uh0EaLA2xEywrMsCX">Jimmy Rushing</a> (1950-1952), Tate led his own crowd-pleasing group for 21 years (1953-1974) at Harlem's Celebrity Club. During this period, Tate also took time out to record in a variety of settings (including with <a href="spotify:artist:1rQ8RuN5MY5dBeBz81fIho">Buck Clayton</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6R8OZtD9TL5Wki7Shzm8fb">Milt Buckner</a>) and he was the one of the stars of John Hammond's Spirituals to Swing concert of 1967. Tate kept busy after the Celebrity Club association ended, recording frequently, co-leading a band with <a href="spotify:artist:79M6Ce0m7LMzZOfy5C27C1">Paul Quinichette</a> in 1975, playing and recording in Canada with <a href="spotify:artist:1qZnWtvzKVV0lJQZBapchU">Jay McShann</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1SCjl4jlSYGO45tezHkOmf">Jim Galloway</a>, visiting Europe many times, and performing at jazz parties; he was also a favorite sideman of <a href="spotify:artist:1pBuKaLHJlIlqYxQQaflve">Benny Goodman</a>'s in the late '70s. Although age had taken its toll, in the mid-'90s Buddy Tate played and recorded with both <a href="spotify:artist:2PjgZkwAEk7UTin4jP6HLP">Lionel Hampton</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5vulkwNOqf3osi7FqKOXbT">the Statesmen of Jazz</a>. Tate lived in New York until January, 2001, when he moved to Phoenix, Arizona to live with his daughter. Buddy Tate died a few weeks later, on February 10. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi