Draft:J.T. Bates

Bates became known in the Twin Cities as a prominent drummer in jazz and improvised music. In 2016, the Star Tribune described him as “the hardest-working drummer in the Twin Cities,” citing both his performance schedule and his role in the music scene.^[3]

He received national critical attention as a member of Fat Kid Wednesdays, a trio with saxophonist Michael Lewis and bassist Adam Linz. In a 2009 review of the group’s New York debut, The New Yorker described the ensemble as a “seasoned jazz trio from Minneapolis” and praised Bates’s “eclectic, imaginative drumming style.”^[4]

Bates is also associated with Shifting Paradigm Records, a Minneapolis jazz label co-founded with guitarist Zacc Harris and pianist Bryan Nichols. In 2025, DownBeat reported that the label had grown to a catalog of more than 100 releases.^[5]

Beyond jazz performance, Bates has worked as a session drummer and engineer on recordings in indie folk and alternative music. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reported in 2020 that he played on three songs from Taylor Swift’s album Folklore, and that the connection came through prior work in the orbit of Big Red Machine, the project of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner.^[6]

Pitchfork listed Bates among the musicians who joined Vernon and Dessner for Big Red Machine performances at Eaux Claires in 2018, and later included him in the lineup for the 2019 37d03d Festival, the event that followed the PEOPLE Festival.^[7][8] Pitchfork also included Bates in the published credits for Bon Iver’s album I, I.^[9]

Credit and album sources also associate Bates with work by Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, Bonny Light Horseman, I'm with Her, Hiss Golden Messenger, Andrew Bird, and Maya Hawke.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}