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Chris (top) and JT Bates, adding color to the Artists Quarter (2013) |
© Andrea Canter
Brothers in jazz, brothers in improvisation, Chris and JT
Bates are brothers, period. And over the past 20 years or so, the Artists
Quarter has been their primary artistic playground, sometimes together (with the
Motion Poets, Kelly Rossum, Bryan Nichols, Zacc Harris, Chris's Red Five) and
sometimes separately. Individually they are at the top of the jazz scene--
Chris on bass for a long list of ensembles, including the Atlantis Quartet, Red
Planet, Framework, How Birds Work, his Good Vibes Trio, sometimes Adam Meckler
Orchestra, Todd Clouser's A Love
Electric; JT on drums for Fat Kids Wednesdays, Bryan Nichols Quintet and Trio,
Zacc Harris Quartet, Todd Clouser.
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Red Five at the Artists Quarter (2013) |
Red Five, which Chris put together about 2 years ago, was a
fresh opportunity for the brothers to work together, and has become one of the
most highly regarded of a crop of new bands. The band's CD release was held at
the Artists Quarter. It was Bates Night. Any time either Chris or JT hit the
stage, it's Bates Night. When they find themelves on the same bandstand... it's
Magic Night.