Born on February 25, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York, Fred Katz is referred to as the first real jazz cellist and is credited to introducing the cello to jazz improvisation. Classically trained, Katz studied under Pablo Casals and became a member of the National Symphony Orchestra. He became a member of Chico Hamilton’s quintet, who became one of the 1950 most influential West Coast jazz groups. Katz and Hamilton composed the score to the 1957 motion picture The Sweet Smell of Success, but Elmer Bernstein’s score was ultimately chosen. Katz released several albums as a leader including Zen: The Music of Fred Katz (1956), Soul Cello (1958), and Fred Katz and his Jammers (1959). He then began composing music for films including a series of B-movies for director Roger Corman. Beginning with A Bucket of Blood (1959), Katz scored a total of eight films for Corman including The Wasp Woman (1959), Ski Troop Attack (1960), Battle of Blood Island (1960), and Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961). His best-known work for Corman was the soundtrack to The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), which was actually pieced together using elements of his previous soundtracks for Corman’s films. Switching gears later in life, was a professor of ethnic music in the Anthropology Department at Cal State University in Fullerton and Northridge. Fred Katz died on September 7, 2013.
