JT Bates has worked with artists from the ends of the spectrum. Equally at home improvising with Paul Metzger, as well as delicately rumbling under a Pieta Brown song, the drums are an extension of his daily life. Exposure and experience into improvised and creative music through a high school friendship with Ben Vida (Bird Show, Town & Country) opened him to the idea that any sound is music, and that any music is just sound, organized. JT Bates is a drummer, keeping time and playing songs with many folks (Greg Brown, Erik Koskinen, Frankie Lee, Dead Man Winter, The Pines, and more). JT Bates is an improviser, churning up the spirits alongside Evan Parker, Tony Malaby, Anthony Cox, Michael Lewis, Adam Linz, and Craig Taborn. He is a session drummer for the likes of The Blind Boys of Alabama, Andrew Bird, Mason Jennings, Marijuana Deathsquads, Joe Pug, and Trampled by Turtles. He is also a curator.