Louis Cato

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Louis Cato was banging on pots, pans, and tables before he could walk; so, for his 2nd birthday, he received his first drum set. From ages 2-5, Louis played drums for church services in Ohio and Washington D.C. (He received his first full size set at the age of 5.) After moving to North Carolina in 1990, Louis spent the next 13 years as drummer for two more churches. At the age of 8, Louis was teaching himself to play bass on acoustic guitar and at age 9, received his first bass guitar. By age 13, Louis received his first 5-string bass. He picked up brass instruments in middle school and as many percussion instruments as he could get his hands on. From eighth to eleventh grade, he studied under Tom Smith, who trained him in the Pfeiffer University Wind Symphony and introduced him to jazz. The Pfeiffer University Jazz Band traveled to Reno, NV in 2001, scoring one of only a handful of superiors in national competition. Louis was honored to receive an award from Slide Hampton for his performance on bass and drums. During high school, Louis also gave drum lessons to upcoming musicians in Albemarle and played in local bands.



Louis has toured extensively in Europe and all over the world with various artists, noted for his ability to play any and every genre with a unique passion and instinctive authenticity. To date he has performed/shared the stage with: Brian McKnight, Roy Hargrove, Stevie Wonder, Marcus Miller, Wynton Marsalis, Wyclef Jean, Sean Jones, Solange Knowles, Jason Palmer, Talib Kweli and Idle Warship, Norah Jones, Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, JoJo, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Bobby Brown, Derek Trucks, Marcus Gilmore, Sam Kininger and Richard Smallwood. Be sure to check out his original projects, 6Figures and Chapter2, both of which are below in the "Top Friends" section.



Louis continues to perform full time as an in-demand sideman and studio veteran on the scenes of New York and Boston.