Catalyst (band)
Encyclopedia
Catalyst was a funk
/jazz
quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, whose material presaged the work of later jazz fusion
artists. The group encountered regional success in the 1970s and have become more widely known since the re-release of their material on CD.
The group was discovered by producer Skip Drinkwater
, who signed them to Muse Records
after hearing them play at a club in West Philadelphia. Drinkwater and Dennis Wilen produced their debut self-titled LP, released in 1972 with the following personnel: Eddie Green
(keyboards, vocals), Sherman Ferguson
(percussion), Odean Pope
(saxophone, flute, oboe), Al Johnson
(bass). The group received little label support for major tours and so spent most of their playing time in the Philadelphia and New York areas. The group recorded and released a second album in 1972 on Cobblestone Records
, entitled Perception; by this time, bassist Johnson had left the group to join Weather Report
, and was replaced by Tyrone Brown
. Drinkwater and Wilen also produced this album.
Garnering comparisons to John Coltrane
, Weather Report
, and Return to Forever
, a cult following had grown up around the band by this time, who returned in 1974 with Unity, again on Muse. The album featured Billy Hart
in addition to its core members. 1975's After a Tear and a Smile would be the group's final release; poor album sales and disenchantment with the industry led the group to disband in 1976.
Following their time with Catalyst, Green played with Pat Martino
and MFSB
, and both Pope and Brown began playing gigs with Max Roach
; Pope also played with the Saxophone Choir. Ferguson later played with Pharaoh Sanders, Bud Shank
, and Kenny Burrell
.
In the 1990s, the Muse catalog was acquired by Joel Dorn
's 32 Jazz
label, which released some of Catalyst's work on a 1998 compilation album. Fan interest led to their entire four-album discography being released as a 2-CD set, entitled The Funkiest Band You Never Heard.
"Ain't it the Truth" and "Ile Ife" were covered by Uri Caine
(keyboards), A.Thompson (Drums, from The Roots), and Christian McBride
(bass), on their album "The Philadelphia Experiment".
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
/jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
quartet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, whose material presaged the work of later jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
artists. The group encountered regional success in the 1970s and have become more widely known since the re-release of their material on CD.
The group was discovered by producer Skip Drinkwater
Skip Drinkwater
Skip Drinkwater is an American record producer. Best known for working with Jazz artistis, Norman Connors, Alphonse Mouzon & Eddie Henderson as well as discover Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Funk/Jazz quartest Catalyst.-Production Discography:...
, who signed them to Muse Records
Muse Records
Muse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
after hearing them play at a club in West Philadelphia. Drinkwater and Dennis Wilen produced their debut self-titled LP, released in 1972 with the following personnel: Eddie Green
Eddie Green
Robert Edward Green was an English footballer. His regular position was as a forward. He was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. He played for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Derby County, and Manchester United.-External links:*...
(keyboards, vocals), Sherman Ferguson
Sherman Ferguson
Sherman Ferguson was an American jazz drummer.Ferguson first played professionally in the middle of the 1960s, working with Charles Earland and Al Martino that decade. Concomitantly he worked as a child tutor for the Model Cities program in Philadelphia...
(percussion), Odean Pope
Odean Pope
Odean Pope is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young...
(saxophone, flute, oboe), Al Johnson
Al Johnson
Al Johnson may refer to:* Al Johnson , American sportsman* Al Johnson , Canadian Member of Parliament* Al Johnson , Canadian ice hockey player...
(bass). The group received little label support for major tours and so spent most of their playing time in the Philadelphia and New York areas. The group recorded and released a second album in 1972 on Cobblestone Records
Cobblestone Records
Cobblestone Records was an American jazz record label.Cobblestone had two successive incarnations. The early one was in 1968-69 as a singles label, subsidiary of Buddah Records...
, entitled Perception; by this time, bassist Johnson had left the group to join Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, and was replaced by Tyrone Brown
Tyrone Brown
Tyrone Brown is an African-American Texan who was sentenced to a life term in a Texas maximum security prison for a robbery which netted two Chinese yen in 1990 and smoking marijuana while on probation. He was granted a conditional pardon by Texas Governor Rick Perry...
. Drinkwater and Wilen also produced this album.
Garnering comparisons to John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, and Return to Forever
Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion group founded and led by keyboardist Chick Corea. Through its existence, the band has cycled through a number of different members, with the only consistent band mate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke...
, a cult following had grown up around the band by this time, who returned in 1974 with Unity, again on Muse. The album featured Billy Hart
Billy Hart
William "Billy" Hart is a jazz drummer and educator who has performed with some of the most important jazz musicians in history.-Biography:Early on Hart performed in Washington, D.C...
in addition to its core members. 1975's After a Tear and a Smile would be the group's final release; poor album sales and disenchantment with the industry led the group to disband in 1976.
Following their time with Catalyst, Green played with Pat Martino
Pat Martino
Pat Martino is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms.-Biography:...
and MFSB
MFSB
MFSB was a pool of more than thirty studio musicians based at Philadelphia’s famed Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up such groups as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the...
, and both Pope and Brown began playing gigs with Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
; Pope also played with the Saxophone Choir. Ferguson later played with Pharaoh Sanders, Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, and Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
.
In the 1990s, the Muse catalog was acquired by Joel Dorn
Joel Dorn
Joel Dorn was an American jazz and R&B music producer and record label entrepreneur. He worked at Atlantic Records, and later founded the 32 Jazz, Label M, and Hyena Records labels...
's 32 Jazz
32 Jazz
-Discography:...
label, which released some of Catalyst's work on a 1998 compilation album. Fan interest led to their entire four-album discography being released as a 2-CD set, entitled The Funkiest Band You Never Heard.
"Ain't it the Truth" and "Ile Ife" were covered by Uri Caine
Uri Caine
Uri Caine is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer.-Early years:The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist Bernard Peiffer at 12. He later studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he came...
(keyboards), A.Thompson (Drums, from The Roots), and Christian McBride
Christian McBride
Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
(bass), on their album "The Philadelphia Experiment".
Discography
- Catalyst (Muse, 1972)
- Perception (Cobblestone, 1972)
- Unity (Muse, 1974)
- After a Tear and a Smile (Muse, 1975)
- The Funkiest Band You Never Heard (32 Jazz, 1999)