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Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music.[1][2] East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego (1978). He is a founding member of contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay and has recorded, performed, and co-written songs with performers such as Bobby Womack,[3] Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Joe Satriani, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Toto, Kenny Loggins, Daft Punk, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock.

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Nathan East
East in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Nathan Harrell East
Born	(1955-12-08) December 8, 1955 (age 66) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Smooth jazz jazz-funk R&B soul
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter record producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals bass guitar double bass cello
Years active	1971–present
Website	nathaneast.com

Career

Early life

Nathan Harrell East was born on December 8, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Thomas and Gwendolyn East. He is one of eight children (five boys and three girls) raised Catholic in San Diego, where the family moved when he was four. He is the younger brother of Msgr Ray East of St Teresa of Avila Church in DC.[4]

East first studied cello from seventh through ninth grade 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 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 also an accomplished amateur magician member of The Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts.

Music career

East is a founding member of the contemporary jazz band Fourplay with Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour on guitar (later replaced by Larry Carlton and Chuck Loeb) and Harvey Mason (drums).

He has worked with Bobby Womack (on the album The Poet),[3] Babyface, Anita Baker, The Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Gail Ann Dorsey, Bryan Ferry, Daft Punk, Herbie Hancock, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind & Fire, B.B. King, Kenny Loggins, The Love Unlimited Orchestra, The Manhattan Transfer, Ed O'Brien, Laura Pausini, Savage Garden, Sting, Barry White, and Stevie Wonder. He co-wrote the song "Easy Lover" for Phil Collins and Philip Bailey. In 2013, he recorded the bass line for the 2013 hit "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk, which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (2014). Since the 1980s, East has been a member of Eric Clapton's studio and touring bands. East was invited to play at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2009.

In early 2010, he 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. East later joined Toto for their 2011 and 2012 tours as well. He joined Eric Clapton's band for concerts in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Dubai in February and March 2014 and again for the Madison Square Garden and Royal Albert Hall concerts of May, 2015.[5]

East's debut self-titled solo album Nathan East was released on March 25, 2014.[6][7] During recording, he was joined by several of his longtime associates, including Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Ray Parker Jr., and Greg Phillinganes.[1]

Equipment

With Yamaha, East developed a custom 5-string bass guitar signature model, the BBNE (modeled after his early 1980s BB5000 5-string bass). The second signature bass, the BBNE2, was released in 2001. A limited edition 30th Anniversary version (the BBNE2 LTD) was released in 2011. He has also used custom 6-string prototypes of his BBNE2 bass guitar between 2003 and 2005, along with his black 1980s LB-1 Motion 5-string bass and a pair of 6-string TRB6P models. Yamaha introduced the NE1 Parametric EQ Pedal, otherwise known as the "Magic Box" in the early 2000s. This pedal essentially gives the player the ability to use the "Nathan East EQ curve" on any bass they choose. East also plays a Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass.[8]

Awards and honors

• Ivor Novello Award, British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for "Easy Lover"
• Most Valuable Player (bass), International Rock Awards
• Bassist of the Year, U.S. National Smooth Jazz Awards
• Most Valuable Player (bass), N.A.R.A.S.
• Most Performed Work, ASCAP
• Honored by U.S. Congress, 2007[9][10]

Discography

Solo

Year	Title	Label	Notes
2014	Nathan East	Yamaha Entertainment Group
2015	The New Cool	Yamaha Entertainment Group	with Bob James[11]
2017	Reverence	Yamaha Entertainment Group

With Fourplay

Year	Title	Label	Notes
1991	Fourplay	Warner Bros.
1993	Between the Sheets	Warner Bros.
1995	Elixir	Warner Bros.
1997	The Best of Fourplay	Warner Bros.	compilation album
1998	4	Warner Bros.
1999	Snowbound	Warner Bros.
2000	Yes, Please!	Warner Bros.
2002	Heartfelt	Bluebird
2004	Journey	Bluebird
2006	X	Bluebird
2008	Energy	Heads Up
2010	Let's Touch the Sky	Heads Up
2012	Esprit de Four	Heads Up
2015	Silver	Heads Up

Live collaborations

Year	Artist	Show/Collaboration	Member/Guest
1971	Barry White		Band Member
1971	The Love Unlimited Orchestra		Band Member
1979	Patrice Rushen		Band Member
1980	Lee Ritenour		Band Member
1981	Hubert Laws		Band Member
1982	Joe Sample		Band Member
1984	Al Jarreau		Band Member
1985	Kenny Loggins	Live Aid	Band Member
1986	Eric Clapton		Band Member
1991	Fourplay		Band Member
1994-1997	Phil Collins		Band Member
2000	Babyface	Unplugged	Band Member
2006	Herbie Hancock		Band Member
2010-2014	Toto		Band Member
2014	Daft Punk, Stevie Wonder, Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams	Grammy Awards	Performer
2015	Eric Clapton		Band Member

References

External links

• Official site
• Online Electric Bass School with Nathan East
• Fourplay homepage
• Interview at Smooth Jazz Notes

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