J. Hansen (drums)

J. Hansen was born in Joliet, Illinois in 1972. He began playing drums at a very early age and performed his first gig at 13. He began his musical career drumming with Dixieland bands and played traditional jazz with classic jazz multi-instrumentalist Clint Baker. While studying music in college, J. began working in local Bay Area blues bands and writing songs for his own R&B/funk band, Verso.

In 1998, J. toured California and recorded a CD with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's longtime tenor banjo player, Narvin Kimball. J. then began playing with the well-known swing band Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, with whom he toured and recorded a CD. Hansen joined The Nightcats in 2002.