Bob Bates was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

.

Bates was born in Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of 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 Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...

. His mother was an organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

; his brother is the bassist Norman Bates

Norman Bates (musician)

Norman Louis Bates is an American jazz double-bass player.Bates is the brother of Bob Bates. He played in Jimmy Dorsey's band in 1945-46 and with Raymond Scott and Carmen Cavallaro shortly thereafter. In 1948 he played in a trio with Dave Brubeck, and in 1949 with Paul Desmond. He recorded with...

. As a youth he played tuba

Tuba

The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...

, trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

, and trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

. He studied classical bass from 1944 to 1948 and played with Sonny Dunham

Sonny Dunham

Elmer "Sonny" Dunham was an American trumpet player and bandleader.Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of Elmer and Ethel Dunham, he attended local schools and took lessons on the valve trombone at the age of 7. He changed to the slide trombone at age 11, and was playing in local bands by...

 in 1947 and with Jack Fina

Jack Fina

Jack Fina was a bandleader, songwriter, and pianist.Known as "The Ten Most Talented Fingers On Radio", 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...

 from 1948 to 1949. His first recording session was in 1949 with Jack Sheedy

Jack Sheedy

Jack Sheedy is a former Dublin senior Gaelic football player. He played his club football for Dublin based club Lucan Sarsfields.-Football career:...

's Dixieland

Dixieland

Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...

 band. Early in the 1950s he played in the Two Beaux & a Peep Trio. He is best remembered for playing bass with Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck

David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

 between 1954 and 1955, after which time he was replaced by brother Norman, then Eugene Wright

Eugene Wright

"The Senator" Eugene Wright is an American jazz bassist, best known for his work as a member of The Dave Brubeck Quartet, in particular on the group's most famous album Time Out , with pianist Brubeck, drummer Joe Morello and saxophonist Paul Desmond.Wright, nicknamed "The Senator", had played...

. He appears on the albums Jazz Goes to College

Jazz Goes to College

Jazz Goes to College is a 1954 album documenting the North American college tour of The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Joining Brubeck are Paul Desmond, Bob Bates and Joe Dodge, whose support All Music calls "uniformly flawless" in a "perfect representation" of the quartet's early work...

, Brubeck & Desmond: Storyville 1954, Brubeck Time, and Jazz: Red, Hot & Cool. This was his last major engagement; he disappears from record after the middle of the 1950s. He died in San Francisco, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

in 1981.