Bob Bates (September 1, 1923 – September 13, 1981) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bassist.

Early life

Bates was born in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. His mother was an organist, while his brothers

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and Jim were also bassists. As a youth, he played tuba, trumpet, and trombone. He then studied classical bass from 1944 to 1948 and played with

Sonny Dunham Elmer "Sonny" Dunham (November 16, 1911 – July 9, 1990) was an American trumpet player and bandleader. A versatile musician, he was one of the few trumpet players who could double on the trombone with equal skill. Biography Born in Brockton, ...

in 1946 and 1947. Bates began performing with

Jack Fina Jack Fina (August 13, 1913 – May 14, 1970) was a bandleader, songwriter, and pianist. Fina was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and educated at the New York College of Music and was a student of August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini. He started out pla ...

in the late 1940s.

Career

Early in the 1950s, Bates played in the Two Beaux & a Peep Trio. He was the bassist in the popular

Dave Brubeck Quartet David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

between 1953 and 1955. In addition to Brubeck, Bates also recorded with

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " ...

in 1954, and

Dave Pell David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s. Biography Pell played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor, B ...

in 1956. He stopped playing at around this time.

Personal life

Bates died in 1981 in San Francisco, at the age of 58.

Discography

With

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

*''Dave Brubeck at Storyville: 1954'' (Columbia, 1954) *''

Jazz Goes to College ''Jazz Goes to College'' is a 1954 album documenting the North American college tour of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. It was Dave Brubeck's first album for Columbia Records. He was joined by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, double bassist Bob Bates, and ...

'' (Columbia, 1954) *'' Brubeck Time'' (Columbia, 1954) *'' Jazz: Red Hot and Cool'' (Columbia, 1954–55) With

*''Desmond'' (Fantasy, 1954) With

*''Jazz Goes Dancing'' (1956)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Bob 1923 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American musicians American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from Idaho People from Pocatello, Idaho Jazz musicians from San Francisco 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Dave Brubeck Quartet members Jazz musicians from Idaho