George Holmes “Buddy” Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.

Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All About Jazz, “Tate was performing in public as early as 1925 in a band called McCloud’s Night Owls.” Tate’s 2001 New York Times obituary stated that “he began his career in the late 1920s, playing around the Southwest with bands led by Terrence Holder, Andy Kirk and Nat Towles.”

Tate switched to tenor saxophone, making a name for himself in bands such as the one led by Andy Kirk.He joined Count Basie in 1939 and stayed with him until 1948. He had been selected by Basie after the death of Herschel Evans, which Tate stated he had predicted in a dream.