NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 3, 2007) – World renowned bassist and Yamaha artist
Nathan East was awarded a Congressional Record from the United States Congress House of Representatives, recognizing him as a distinguished member of the music industry. Entitled "A Tribute To The Jazz Great Nathan East," he was singled out for his outstanding achievements and for offering his "talents and services for the betterment of our local and global communities."
A. Robert Brown, senior advisor to Congressman Ed Towns of New York, presented the honor to East during a concert performance of jazz super group Fourplay in Philadelphia on Sunday, March 25. Congress also recognized Fourplay for their contributions to the industry worldwide, presenting them a Congressional Record as well. Presently Fourplay is the only group in history to receive this recognition. Fourplay members include East, fellow Yamaha artist Bob James, Larry Carlton, and Harvey Mason.
"On behalf of everyone at Yamaha we'd like to congratulate Nathan and Fourplay. We are extremely proud to call Nathan a Yamaha artist and couldn't think of a finer musician or better person to receive this prestigious honor," comments Terry Lewis, executive vice president of Yamaha Corporation of America.
East received his big break playing in R&B legend Barry White's band. This caught the attention of veteran writer/arranger Gene Page, whom East had worked with on White's sessions. Impressed with East's ability to read music as well as his diverse playing skills, Page used East on all of his projects including recordings for Whitney Houston, Madonna, Dionne Warwick, and Michael Jackson.
As East's reputation grew on the L.A. session scene, so did his job calls. From that point on, East worked consistently. He did sessions for Lionel Richie and Diana Ross ("Endless Love"), Kenny Rogers ("Lady"), Quincy Jones ("Back On The Block"), and Kenny Loggins ("Footloose" and "Vox Humana"). He toured with Loggins, appearing with the singer at Live Aid in 1985. Eric Clapton heard East and invited him to join his band. With keyboardist Greg Phillinganes and drummer Phil Collins, they toured the world over and performed multiple concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, which resulted in the release of Clapton's 24
Nights CD. With Clapton, East would go on to record numerous CDs including
Journeyman,
August,
Behind The Sun,
Pilgrim,
Reptile, and the GRAMMY Award-winning, multi-platinum Clapton
MTV Unplugged CD.
In 1991, East was voted the Most Valuable Player in the bass category at the International Rock Awards and is a three-time recipient of the National Smooth Jazz Award Bassist of the Year. He also won Britain's prestigious Ivor Novello Award for co-writing the number one hit song "Easy Lover" with Phil Collins and Philip Bailey. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has awarded East Emeritus status for winning the most consecutive years as MVP Bassist.
Fourplay debuted with a splash in 1991, when their self-titled album sold more than one million copies and was number one on the
Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts for 33 weeks. The follow-up,
Between the Sheets, reached number one, earned gold status, and was nominated for a GRAMMY in 1993. Their gold third release,
Elixir, hit number one and held onto the top spot for a record 92 weeks. Fourplay's fourth album, 4, also entered the charts at number one. Now, after fifteen years together, nine CDs and five GRAMMY nominations, Fourplay's latest CD,
X, debuted at number one and remained there for more than two months.
East has also found time to collaborate with Yamaha to develop his own signature series 5-string bass guitar, model
BBNE2, available in stories worldwide. Additionally, he has an instructional video,
Contemporary Electric Bass, and instructional DVD,
The Business of Bass.
