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), Alphonso 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.
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.
"Ain't it the Truth" and "Ile Ife" were covered by Uri Caine (keyboards), Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (Drums, from The Roots), and Christian McBride (bass), on their album The Philadelphia Experiment.