Nathan East, a bass legend who has played with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston, Toto, Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes, Herbie Hancock, Beyoncé, Andrea Bocelli, Eric Clapton, and Daft Punk, leads a jazz ensemble called the Nathan East Quartet. The group will perform material from their new album Father Son at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul.

East is currently on an Asia tour with his quartet and spoke via email about his Korea date, saying that when Fourplay first visited Seoul in 2002, he grew fond of the young and stylish Korean fans. Fourplay, a fusion jazz group that includes East, guitarist Lee Ritenour, keyboardist Bob James, and drummer Harvey Mason, is often described as the “Avengers” of the music world. In Korea, seven of his Korea visits have sold out six times.

East began playing bass at 14 after making music with his two brothers in church, and later became the bassist for the Power band, which was recruited by the famous singer Berry White to serve as the house band, taking him onto national stages by the age of 16. He is also known for his collaboration with Daft Punk on Get Lucky, which helped the duo win the 2014 Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year. East recalls that during the Get Lucky sessions, the studio atmosphere was so lively that everyone danced, and he adjusted his bass line to fit with Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams.

In Korea, East will take center stage, driving the overall musical flow with both double bass and bass guitar, and his son Noah East, a keyboardist, will join him on stage. Noah demonstrated perfect pitch when he was four, and the father and son have frequently performed together since then. East also shared that he has been listening to Blackpink, NewJeans, and BTS’s V recently and remains open to collaborations with Korean musicians. His quartet even features Korean guitarist Jack Lee, and other session musicians have contributed to Korean music projects. For this Korea run, Kim Ji-hoon of the crossover group Liberante will join as a special guest vocalist. Music, East says, is a universal language, and he welcomes good music wherever it comes from.