Nathan East

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

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; and still practices the faith. He is the younger brother of Rev. Monsignor Raymond "Ray" East who is the pastor of St Teresa of Avila Catholic Parish in Washington D.C.

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),

East's self-titled debut solo album was released on March 25, 2014. During recording, he was joined by several of his longtime associates, including Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Ray Parker Jr., and Greg Phillinganes. Returning from Japan, East joined Eric Clapton's nephew, Will Johns, and The Cream of Clapton Band at their April 30 show in San Diego. East's son, Noah East, has been a part of The Cream of Clapton Band since early 2023 and toured with the band throughout the spring of 2023.

Equipment Nathan East plays a Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass with Fourplay at Knight Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 8, 2014. 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.

In 2019, East co-developed a custom in-ear monitor dubbed N8 (a product abbreviation that plays on East's first name, Nate) with 64 Audio, an Oregon-based manufacturer of in-ear monitors for stage performers, mixing engineers and audio enthusiasts.

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

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

Solo Year Album Peak chart positions LabelUS200 USTopSales USJazz USCon.Jazz USTopCur USInd 2014 Nathan East 193 193 2 1 163 41 Yamaha Entertainment Group 2015 The New Cool — — 5 2 — — 2017 Reverence — — 1 1 — 23"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Charted singles Year Title Peak chart positions Album Smooth JazzAirplay 2014 "Daft Funk" 2 Nathan East "101 Eastbound" 11 2015 "Moondance" 21 2016 "Lifecycle" 1 Reverence 2017 "Serpentine Fire" 17 2023 "Nujazzy" 1 Bobby Lyle – Ivory Flow 2024 "Love of Your Life" 9 Lindsey Webster – Reasons "Longing for You" 1 Donald Hayes – Soul Searching

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 1992Eric ClaptonUnpluggedBand 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