Nathan East

Nathan East
Nathan East performing in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Nathan Harrell East
Born	8 December 1955 (1955-12-08) (age 55) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz, R&B, rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, Upright bass, electric bass guitar, cello
Associated acts	Fourplay, Eric Clapton, Toto
Website	Nathan East.com
Notable instruments
Yamaha basses

Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego (1978). He is a member of Smooth Jazz quartet Fourplay and has recorded, performed and co-written songs with performers such as Eric Clapton, Joe Satriani, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Toto and Herbie Hancock.

Career

Early life

Born to Thomas and Gwendolyn East, he is one of seven children (five boys and two girls) raised in San Diego, California, where the family moved when he was four. East first studied cello in seventh through ninth grades and played in local Horace Mann junior high school's orchestra. At age fourteen he developed an interest in the bass guitar, playing in church (Christ The King) for folk masses with his brothers Raymond and David. He was active in his (Crawford) high school's music programs along with a local top 40 band called "Power". He has said his early influences included Charles Mingus, Ray Brown and Ron Carter on upright bass; and James Jamerson, Paul McCartney and Chuck Rainey on electric bass. He studied music at UC San Diego. Nathan East is an accomplished amateur magician.

Musical experience

East has recorded, performed and co-written songs with Anita Baker, Babyface, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, The Manhattan Transfer, and Herbie Hancock. He composed the music for the Number one hit song "Easy Lover" for Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.

He performed on the Grammy Award- winning Unplugged album with Eric Clapton which featured the classic song "Tears In Heaven" (1992). East, a long-time member of Eric Clapton's studio and touring bands since the early 1980s also played on Clapton's "Change The World" which won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1997. Other DVDs and videos Nathan appears on include Babyface Unplugged (1997), Phil Collins' "Live & Loose in Paris" (1998), Eric Clapton's 24 Nights (1991), One More Car, One More Rider (2001), Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004), Fourplay "Live in Cape Town (2006), Andrea Bocelli's, Vivere Live in Tuscany (2007) and David Foster & Friends (2008).

East was invited to play at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2009, with a cast of luminaries of all genres of music.

East is one of the original members of the contemporary jazz group Fourplay, along with Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour on guitar(later replaced by Larry Carlton and Chuck Loeb) and Harvey Mason (drums). Their Grammy Award-nominated albums have earned platinum status, and have topped Billboard's contemporary jazz charts.

In early 2010, East was invited to join American Grammy Award-winning rock band Toto on their reunion tour to benefit member Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Another tour will take place in the summer of 2011 with East once again playing.

Equipment

East has endorsed Yamaha instruments since 1981 and developed his own custom 5-string signature model in 1995, the BBNE2 (modeled after his early 1980s BB415 5-string bass). He has used a custom 6-string version of his signature bass since late 2003, along with a Motion 5-string bass and a pair of 6-string TRB6P models finished in Faded Cherry Sunburst with gold hardware and Polar White with satin black hardware, both featuring a high-mass bridge with piezo saddles for acoustic upright tones and created with Yamaha the NE1 Parametric EQ Pedal, otherwise known as the "Magic Box".

East also plays the Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass and endorsed Music Man and Fodera basses between 1988 and 1994.

Awards

East has received a range of awards from music industry associations including The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors most prestigious Ivor Novello Award for co-writing the Collins/Bailey classic hit "Easy Lover", Most Valuable Player (bass category) at the International Rock Awards and three time Bassist of the Year at the U.S. National Smooth Jazz Awards, N.A.R.A.S. MVP (bassist), ASCAP Awards for most performed work. In 2007, Nathan was honored by the United States Congress and awarded a Congressional Record for his contribution to the worldwide music community.^[1]

Soundtracks

East is also credited on numerous soundtracks including Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Crossroads, Tarzan, Waiting to Exhale, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Preacher's Wife, Phenomenon, One Fine Day, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, Rush, Escape From L.A., Something to Talk About, Brewster's Millions, Thelma & Louise and Footloose.

Recordings

East continues to be one of the world's most sought after musicians with an impressive list of recording credits on over a thousand records. He can be heard on recordings by a wide range of top international artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Michael McDonald, JJ Cale, Ry Cooder, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Billy Preston, Celine Dion, Usher, The Bee Gees, Anita Baker, Toni Braxton, Justin Timberlake, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Julio Iglesias, Eurythmics, Kazumasa Oda, Joe Satriani, George Benson, Sérgio Mendes, Mary J. Blige, Josh Groban, Taylor Hicks, Michael Bublé, David Benoit, Laura Pausini, Bryan Duncan, Eros Ramazzotti, Bob Dylan and Barry White. For a complete list of recordings Nate's on check out All Music Complete Discography.

Discography

DVD

• East produced an instructional DVD called "The Business of Bass" by Hal Leonard Publishing.
• East appears in many Eric Clapton concert DVDs, including 24 Nights, MTV Unplugged, One More Car, One More Rider and various others such as Live at Montreux.
• East was a participant in Star Licks Productions’, All-Star Bass Series.

References

1. ^ "Nathan East & Fourplay Honored By U.S. Congress"

References incorrectly left out of inline referencing

• Smooth Jazz Notes Interview
• All Music Complete Discography
• The Business of Bass DVD
• Musician's Friend Exclusive Interview
• Mix Magazine Article
• Bass Player Magazine Article
• Wire Image Photos
• YAMAHA Artist

External links

• Nathan East.com
• Fourplay homepage
• Nathan East on Myspace
• Facebook
• Twitter

Persondata
Name	East, Nathan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 8, 1955
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death