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Press &Reviews

Bob James Live at the Milliken Auditorium is Released!

by on Mar.26, 2015, under News, Press &Reviews

Bob James - Live at the Milliken Auditorium - Album Cover
Listen to a single from the CD at
www.bobjames.com!

The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College and Tappan Zee Records are pleased to announce the USA release of the new CD Bob James Live at the Milliken Auditorium as recorded in concert with the Grammy Award winning Jazz pianist Bob James and the Bob James Quartet on May 3, 2014.

The CD features Bob James – Piano with Perry Hughes – Guitar, Clarence Penn – Drums and Nathaniel Phillips – Bass.  It includes 8 extended tracks from the concert including, Blues Down Under 6:56; The Jody Grind 7:25; Skidaway 9:46; Where are You/Downtown 8:49; Night Crawler 7:07; Nautilus 7:03; Westchester Lady 6:20; Angela/Someone to Watch Over Me; 10:45.

The CD was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jack Conners, Milliken Tech Director and features concert photography by Dave Dalquist. Production of the CD was made possible with a grant to the Dennos from the Begonia Charitable Foundation and managed by Sonny Abelardo.

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You Know the Music…Now Meet the Man

by on Feb.25, 2015, under News, Press &Reviews

Nathan East guitar

You’ve heard Nathan East play bass guitar before.
At least it’s very, very likely you have.

East is a session bass player without equal. He’s performed on more than 2,000 recordings with a list of artists that includes Michael Jackson — on the “Bad” album — Phil Collins, Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, Eric Clapton and hundreds more.

He was even one of the composers of “Get Lucky,” a worldwide hit for Daft Punk.

“It’s been one of those careers where I just wake up every day and pinch myself,” he says.

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Franklin-based label scores unlikely Grammy nomination

by on Feb.07, 2015, under News, Press &Reviews

TN Article

After more than 1,500 recording credits, bass player Nathan East earned a Grammy nomination for his debut solo album on Franklin-based label Yamaha Entertainment Group.

Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Phil Collins, Wynonna Judd, Eric Clapton and Daft Punk are each linked by another, lesser-known, legend — Grammy-nominated artist Nathan East.

With a genre-spanning career and a track record of supporting music industry legends, the 58-year-old East already had an unrivaled career as a bass player before he partnered with Franklin-based Yamaha Entertainment Group for his first solo album. The album, titled “Nathan East,” is nominated for best contemporary instrumental jazz album.

While it marked East’s first album as a solo artist, he has more than 2,000 record credits to his name, making him one of, if not the most, recorded musicians ever. The Grammy recognition also represents validation for East’s record label home, Yamaha Entertainment Group, which is a division of the leading instrument company Yamaha Corporation of America.

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Bassman Nathan East is Tech: Hotel Recording between Pillows…

by on Feb.04, 2015, under News, Press &Reviews

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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!

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Warm up with Bob James at a Fireside Chat

by on Jan.30, 2015, under Press &Reviews

bob_james_1000x664pxMost people know only fragments of his music via samples in hip hop tracks. Now here’s the whole story, told by the man himself: Bob James.

Bob James’s music has informed and inspired some of the most important producers and musicians in the post-disco era, and has been sampled by hip hop and dance producers alike. At the same time his take on fusion has been a constant key presence in the development of jazz since the mid-seventies. And, of course, his studio work with folks like Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack and Quincy Jones well deserves the legendary status it has with those in the know.

Listen to the chat HERE!

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Bassist Nathan East on Playing for the Pope, Obama, and Daft Punk

by on Jan.26, 2015, under Press &Reviews

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If you have listened to a radio, watched a TV or gone out of your house in the last thirty years, you have heard bassist Nathan East. The Tarzana-based musician has 2000 recording credits that range from Kenny Rogers to Wayne Shorter. That’s East shouting “Put your feet on the ground” during Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose.” That same year he co-wrote the Phil Collins/Phillip Bailey hit “Easy Lover.” His funky bassline drives Daft Punk’s recent hit “Get Lucky” while Whitney Houston’s slow burner “Saving All My Love For You” is lifted by his patient support. Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” and Michael Jackson’s “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” also feature East’s electric bass. But it wasn’t until March of last year that he finally saw his own name on the cover of an album.

“Nathan East” dominated the Billboard Smooth Jazz charts when it was released last March. Friends like Eric Clapton and Michael McDonald made guest appearances while drummer Ricky Lawson contributed to numerous tracks before his untimely passing last winter. The album was recently nominated for a Best Contemporary Instrumental Grammy Award and East has plans for a follow-up as well as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of his co-founding the band Fourplay.

East spoke to Artbound about a few of his more memorable live gigs in and out of the spotlight.

CLICK HERE to continue reading, see video, and more!

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Catch the Fireside Chat with Harvey Mason

by on Jan.22, 2015, under Press &Reviews

Harvey_Mason

From Herbie Hancock to Donald Byrd and the Mizell Brothers: meet one of the most iconic drummers in the history of jazz and funk.

Harvey Mason is a master of the drum. His work on Donald Byrd’s breakthrough LP Black Byrd showcased his signature loose, rolling funk feel, and soon he was a fully fledged member of Herbie Hancock’s seminal Headhunters group. After that the floodgates opened, with ‘The Mase’ laying down the rhythm track on classic records by the likes of James Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Ahmad Jamal, Bobby Hutcherson, Chick Corea, Minnie Riperton, Patrice Rushen, Earth, Wind & Fire, Bobbi Humphrey, Gary Bartz – the list goes on and on. He’s also put the hours in behind the desk, producing records for the likes of Seawind, Midnight Star and Dionne Warwick. Besides being the go-to drummer of the Mizell Brothers’ biggest compositions, Mr. Mason embarked on a solo career and signed a five-year contract with Clive Davis’ Arista Records in 1975. For his five jazz-rock and disco-tinged albums for Arista (and Ratamacue released for Atlantic in 1996), he earned five Grammy nominations. His journey in the drum has seen him go from Atlantic City, Erroll Garner and Duke Ellington to fusion, disco and film scores alongside the likes of CTI, George Benson, and Quincy Jones, not to mention his own smash hit records.

Listen to the chat HERE!

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Nathan East Looks Back – For The Record…

by on Jan.05, 2015, under News, Press &Reviews

Nathan-East-Looks-Back-BassMMag

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 4th, just above Herbie Hancock at Pyramid Studio on the 11th and Natalie Cole and George Duke at Ocean Way on the 18th. 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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Exclusive: Bassist Nathan East Stars In Hulu Documentary

by on Dec.09, 2014, under News, Press &Reviews

USA Today article - Jan 2014

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 PunkBeyoncéBarbra StreisandEric Clapton and more.

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

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The Story of Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” As Told By Nathan East

by on Dec.02, 2014, under News, Press &Reviews

Nathan and Kenny Loggins @ Live Aid
By Chris Steffen

Last time we talked to bassist Nathan East about his experience in the wild world of Daft Punk, which included his playing on the smash hit “Get Lucky” and a star-studded Grammy performance. This time we went deeper into the past to dig into East’s time with eighties hitmaker and movie theme icon Kenny Loggins, for which he had to turn down a massive job, but included the Number One, Oscar-nominated track “Footloose,” and the performance at Live Aid that earned him his next huge gig.

AllMusic: Before we get into “Footloose,” what have you been working on since we last talked?

Nathan East: I was in Seoul promoting my record, and that went really well. The Korean audiences were young, vibrant and energetic, it was amazing. I went from there to Japan with Fourplay, we had a good run, and I went to Moscow, Denmark, Germany and the UK to do some bass clinics, so it was pretty extensive travel. We just got back from the Bay Area with Fourplay, and we’re starting our 25th anniversary album.

Also, I just played with Steven Tyler up in Canada. It was amazing, it was for the David Foster Foundation charity gala that he does every year, this one was in Calgary. Jennifer Hudson and Babyface were there, too, they participated in the show, but Tyler was my fave. We were the house band, so all those songs that we usually jam around on, like “Walk This Way,” we got to play with him, it was huge fun. That afternoon we determined the songs we’d play and we ran through them, but those songs are just in your psyche, so shame on you if you don’t know them. We had his stuff down. He had a good time, and it must be interesting to play with people who aren’t Aerosmith.

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