In only 2 weeks Nathan East’s long awaited solo album has made a very strong statement in the Billboard Jazz Charts…

#1 Contemporary Jazz Album

#2 Jazz Album

#2 Smooth Jazz Single for “Daft Funk”

Check out more at NathanEast.com!

Harvey Mason is set to release his new album, ‘Chameleon’ on April 29th, 2014.

Get an audio preview, plus a signed copy of the album by clicking

HERE!

Harvey Mason is among the most recorded and in-demand drummers of all-time. A legendary, multi-GRAMMY® nominated session drummer, producer, composer & recording artist, he has worked with a pantheon of musical giants, including Barbra Streisand, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Bjork, Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson, John Legend, Seal, and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has composed and written songs recorded by artists ranging from Nancy Wilson and Mary J. Blige to The Notorious B.I.G., Lupe Fiasco, Nelly/P. Diddy and T.I.

Chameleon, Mason’s April 29, 2014 solo debut for Concord Records and 10th solo project overall, adds one more remarkable chapter to his legacy. A blend of R&B, urban and cutting-edge jazz, Chameleon takes its inspiration from the title track, which Mason co-wrote with Herbie Hancock, and is a knowing nod to Mason himself, aptly dubbed the “Chameleon” for his uncanny ability to perform so many styles of music. The album updates classic tracks that Mason either wrote or actually played on, such as Hancock’s “Chameleon,” Grover Washington’s “Black Frost,” Patrice Rushen’s “Before the Dawn,” Donald Byrd’s “Places and Spaces” and Mason’s own “Either Way.” Look for Mason to hit the road with his new band Chameleon to support his Concord release.

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Yamaha Entertainment Group of America recently hosted a celebration in honor of Nathan East’s long-awaited solo debut recording at Ocean Way Hollywood – Studio A. The self-titled album was produced by Chris Gero and Nathan East and features such stellar artists as Bob James, Michael McDonald, Stevie Wonder, David Paich, Ray Parker, Jr., and Chuck Loeb as well as special performance by Sara Bareilles, among others.

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Tickets are now available for the fourth annual Bob James Jazz Festival.

Separate tickets for each concert of the two-night event may be purchased at The Marshall Democrat-News office, Square Corner and Vox Box, or online at bobjamesjazzfest.org/tickets/2014.

Bob James Jazz Festival will be held Friday and Saturday evenings, May 16-17. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. the first night at Eckilson-Mabee Theatre on the Missouri Valley College campus. Saturday, the concert kicks off at 6 p.m. at Bueker Middle School’s Harold L. Lickey Auditorium, and doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

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Earth, Wind, and Fire never won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Neither did Kool and the Gang, or Chic, or the Trammps. Instead, during the height of the disco era, the Academy was busy showering golden gramophones on The Eagles and Captain and Tennille. So for every music that ever laid down a groove in the ’70s, stretched out, and danced under the mirror ball, here’s some extremely belated validation from an industry that has always hesitated to recognize dance music. “Get Lucky,” the funky throwback smash by French electropop act Daft Punk, took the Record prize at tonight’s show.

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During the Grammy Awards ceremony this Sunday, guitarist Nathan East will perform the bass line in a song that was hard to escape in 2013.

Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” is nominated for best performance by a pop duo. Their album “Random Access Memories” is nominated for album of the year. East is a veteran session musician and plays on a lot of the songs on Daft Punk’s album, including “Get Lucky.”

He says the French duo, pioneers in the electronic music scene, were really fun to work with. They were also very particular about the sound on each song.

“Every groove is meticulously looked at and honed,” East said by phone from Los Angeles.

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