The GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will take place at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday, Feb. 8, from 12:30–3:30 p.m. PT, and present the first GRAMMY Awards of the day in approximately 70 categories. The ceremony will be hosted by current GRAMMY nominee Hunter Hayes and will stream live internationally at GRAMMY.com/live.

Attended by nominees and industry VIPs, the star-studded ceremony will feature performances by current nominees Angie Fisher, Cheyenne Jackson & Alexandra Silber, Old Crow Medicine Show, Ana Tijoux, and an all-star jazz quartet featuring Nathan East, Robert Glasper, Billy Hart, and Joe Lovano. Presenting the first GRAMMY Awards of the day in approximately 70 categories will be current nominees Rosanne Cash, Gloria Gaynor, Hilary Hahn, Smokie Norful, and John Waters as well as five-time GRAMMY-winning producer Jimmy Jam.

Hayes is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for “Invisible.” He has received four previous GRAMMY nominations.

East, Fisher, Hart, Jackson & Silber, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Tijoux each have one nod: East for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Nathan East; Fisher for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “I.R.S.”; Hart for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Enjoy The View; Jackson & Silber for Best Musical Theater Album for West Side Story; Old Crow Medicine Show for Best Folk Album for Remedy; and Tijoux for Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album for Vengo.

Read the Full Piece Here!

ANAHEIM, Calif. – You surely know the music of Nathan East, one of the most recorded bass players in history, who has played with everyone from Michael Jackson and Daft Punk to Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder.

East, who was inducted into the National Association of Music Merchants TEC Awards hall of Fame this weekend, for technical excellence, sat down with us over the weekend to discuss how technology has changed the way he cuts bass lines for records and teaches bass.

“I record anywhere now, from backstage, my hotel room, even a few minutes before the gig starts,” East told us.

WATCH THE ENTIRE REPORT & INTERVIEW HERE!

About one hour into the fascinating, just-released documentary Nathan East: For The Record, there is a quick scene of the bassist sitting on a sofa, quietly perusing his old calendar books from the mid-nineties. “I love keeping these around,” he says as he scans his life-at-a-glance in the little black journals. “It’s like a time capsule and I can go back and see what I was doing.” The entire scene lasts no more than forty seconds, but it is a moment in the film that seems to perfectly capture Nathan’s life and career. As the camera gently pans across and zooms in on the open pages, we see his clean meticulous handwriting, his attention to detail. The names of music stars and legends scatter across the calendar days that are filled with sessions to make and gigs to play, reading almost like a pop music history book. The man is in demand by the very best in the business. But an even closer look also reveals his self-reminders about those who aren’t the stars, written with as much care. Mom’s operation @ Sharp Memorial, right knee is inked in on the 4^th, just above Herbie Hancock at Pyramid Studio on the 11^th and Natalie Cole and George Duke at Ocean Way on the 18^th. He has Mom and Dad’s anniversary on the 28th, the same day as a 9-hour Phil Collins big-band rehearsal in France, one box down from a session for the Escape From LA soundtrack. A flip of the page, more of the same. Sting, Elton, James Taylor, Don Henley. Aunt Doris and Uncle James. Birthday reminders about friends and relatives.

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Fourplay would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The future is shaped by us all, so let’s make 2015 a truly amazing year.

Peace & Love…

Fourplay

Over time, things change.  Styles evolve.  Clothes, hair, production, and music itself.
The icing on the cake may change flavors, but if you get down the cake itself, it is the same as it has always been.

The soul of music is the same, providing the nourishment to uplift our lives, and ambition to dream.
It is said that there are two days that are great in a person’s life…the day we are born, and the day we discover why.

We wish a special 75th birthday to Bob James.

Thank you for all the positivity you have brought to the world…

As fireplaces crackle, family and friends gather, and we take a pause from the hustle and bustle of daily life , Fourplay would like to take a moment to say thank you.

We are so thankful for the amazing people that make our lives possible, especially our fans!

We would like to wish each, and every one of you, a truly loving holiday season…

~ Fourplay

Bassist Nathan East and engineer Ed Cherney will be inducted into the NAMMTEC Awards Hall of Fame by the NAMM Foundation. The induction will take place during the 30th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards show on Saturday, January 24th in Anaheim, California.

Nominees across thirty creative and technical categories have also been announced for the NAMM TEC Awards. The TEC Awards are the longest-running awards show that specifically recognizes outstanding achievement in audio product innovation and sound production.

East has worked with some of the best in the industry that includes Daft Punk, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Beyoncé, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Barry White, Anita Baker, Forplay and Andrea Bocelli. East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music with more than 2,000 recordings. East played bass on Eric Clapton’s multi-Grammy award winning Unplugged album, as well as playing bass on the Daft Punk’s Grammy winning album “Random Access Memories” and in 2014 released his debut album as a solo artist to worldwide acclaim. 
He has a B.A. in Music Performance from University of California San Diego, and as an educator has been teaching how to play bass guitar for decades.

Continue Reading Here…

HUGE shout-out to Grammy-nominated Nathan East for hitting 4…

Yes, 4 of Billboard‘s BEST OF 2014 lists, with his debut solo album!

Nathan’s self titled album is also nominated for the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at The GRAMMYs!!

Featuring Lionel Richie, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins & more, the film debuts in December.

While bassist Nathan East was recording his first solo album last November, a making-of documentary was also part of the mix. But little did East know he would end up starring in a full-blown film that also chronicles his career from a wide-eyed 16-year-old touring with Barry White‘s Love Unlimited Orchestra to Grammy Award-winning session player for Daft Punk, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton and more.

Aptly titled For the Record, the documentary premieres on Hulu in December.

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