Along with his father, drummer Bill Catalano Sr., they would bring the young trumpet player to their gigs and challenge him to follow their lead in a constant trial by fire.
By the age of 15, Catalano had already played hundreds of professional gigs, which ingrained a knowledge of the Great American Songbook that he would use in decades to follow.
In May 1957, Catalano joined Stan Kenton's band,[3] playing in the trumpet section alongside Ed Leddy, Lee Katzman, Sam Noto, and Phil Gilbert.
In two decades, he hired hundreds of local musicians for productions such as the Ice Follies, the Grand National Rodeo, Nureyev and Fonteyn's Ballet Tour at the War Memorial Opera House, and international shows brought to the Bay Area by producer, Terry Terajima.
Billy served as musical contractor for numerous high profile artists, such as Marlene Dietrich, Harry Belafonte, Tex Beneke, Bette Midler, and Tony Bennett, when they performed in San Francisco.
One of his most notable trumpet students is Jon Faddis,[4] whom he met while teaching at Best Music in Oakland, California after his short tenure with Kenton.
"[6] He returned in the late 1970s to his alma maters, Balboa and Denman, to direct the bands and rebuild the instrumental music program at both schools.
As part of media coverage for a donation of musical instruments to Denman by Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area, Catalano was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.