Album Notes

"Simply put, Bates has the ability to make a huge impact on the existing state of modern jazz!"
– Glenn Astarita

"Outside Sources confirms Michael Bates' commitment to exploration"—Gregory Robb, AAJ

As a composer and musician, Michael Bates “serves up melodic modernism and contrapuntal elegance” (”Time Out, New York”) and his influences range from Shostakovich to Ornette Coleman and Bad Brains to Joni Mitchell. Known as the double bassist in several collectives, he has performed with Quinsin Nachoff, Russ Johnson, Gerald Cleaver, Dan Weiss, Take Toriyama, Walter Thompson's Sound Painting Orchestra, Jeff Davis, Peter Van Huffel, Ohad Talmor, Michael Attias, Mike Murley, Shane Endsley, Michael Blake, Michael Sarin, Reuben Radding and several others. His debut cd “Outside Sources” was called one of the best albums of 2004 by Cadence Magazine editor Bob Rusch and trumpeter, Dave Douglas notes, “I whole-heartedly recommend taking special note in the Outside Sources project! Michael Bates is a fantastic bassist and an engaging composer.”

His new album "A Fine Balance" was just released on the German based record label, Between the Lines. It features ten compositions that combine exquisite melodies and contrapuntal textures with an organic and interactive approach to playing jazz. From the aggressive grooves of ‘On Equilibrium” to the austere take on a Prokofiev cello sonata, Michael Bates’ Outside Sources has been described as “a gem that manages to navigate that most difficult and rarely traveled road leading to accessible experimentation. It’s always forward–thinking but it’s also beautiful and within the grasp of even the most casual jazz fan. (Chris Watson, “The View”).

Michael grew up in Canada and often worked at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Even though he was exposed to musicians such as Sun Ra, Thomas Chapin and Dave Holland, he began playing music in hardcore and punk rock bands and maintains that being a creative jazz musician is no different: “The music I write and perform is rooted in the jazz tradition, but punk’s ‘Do It Yourself’ ethos has stuck with me. As a jazz musician I take a decidedly punk rock attitude to things.”

Michael Bates is on faculty at the Banff Centre of the Arts as Program Coordinator of the International Jazz Workshop where he works in conjunction with the artistic director, Dave Douglas. He has studied with the former principal bassist of the Tokyo Symphony, Yoshio Nagashima, at the University of Toronto with Don Thompson and Dave Young and in New York with bassist/composer Mark Helias. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.


"This new recording by bassist Michael Bates has pop music appeal. I’m not talking about saccharine-covered smooth jazz elevator music, but a jazz record that hooks you and draws you in, with not so much catchy tunes as engaging ideas...Different spins of this disc find differing aspects that attract the listener...The clarity of their sound reminds you of the seriousness of fine music making...If jazz music had “hits” and its own Jazz Dick Clark, we would certainly see this disc on his list.-Mark Corroto, All About Jazz

"Outside Sources is a gem just waiting to be appreciated by a larger audience. It manages to navigate that most difficult and rarely travelled road leading to accessible experimentation. It’s always forward–thinking but it’s also beautiful and within the grasp of even the most casual jazz fan." -Chris Watson, Editor, The View

"Canadian bassist Michael Bates' debut recording comes encrusted with some heavy praise—both Mark Helias and Dave Douglas offer enthusiastic words of support for Bates' instrumental and compositional abilities. Celebrity endorsements should necessarily be taken with a dose of skepticism, but if Outside Sources is a true indication, we'd do well to hear them out.... As a bassist, Bates has a huge tone and gift for moody ostinatoes that recalls Greg Cohen—emphasizing clarity and melody over flat technical prowess for a highly controlled and tasteful style....Bates' compositional talent are largely beyond reproach...a musician well worth hearing at this formative stage of what promises to be an extensive career." Scott Hreha, One Final Note