BIOGRAPHY
Nathaniel Kearney Jr. is a Christian man and dedicated bassist.
He believes in having a strong work ethic, perfecting his sound, and doing whatever’s needed for each situation and artist.
A native of Halifax, NC, a small town, he grew up listening to Gospel music. Initially, he listened to mostly quartet groups…The Mighty Clouds Of Joy, The Gospel Keynotes, The Pilgrim Jubilees, The Williams Brothers, & The Canton Spirituals are some of his favorites. At a young age, he developed a love for drums and began playing drums for churches and quartet groups in the area. A few years later, he taught himself how to play bass. Little did he know that skill would take him all over the world.
As time went on he began listening to all genres of music. Soon, artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Luther Vandross, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Temptations, The Gap Band, Paul Young, Michael Jackson, New Edition, Garth Brooks, Roger Troutman, Shania Twain, Stevie Wonder, & Aerosmith became favorites of his.
After honing his craft and deciding to pursue a career in music, Nate began playing for artists such as Karen Clark Sheard, Maurette Brown Clark, and Valerie Boyd when they performed close by. In 2005, he got a phone call that would change his life. He was called to play for Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr singers during a Gospel event at the King’s Dominion theme park. Kurt was so impressed with his playing that he asked Nate to play bass for the One Church Tour where he was the headlining artist. Nate accepted and joined the house band for the tour allowing him to play for Smokie Norful, Vashawn Mitchell, James Fortune & FIYA, Rizen, and Vicki Yohe. At the end of the tour, Kurt asked Nate to be the full time bassist for him. As if things couldn’t get better, a few weeks later, Nate was asked by Smokie Norful to play for him for a performance on the CBS Saturday Morning Show.
From 2005 to 2009, Nate traveled all over the world with Kurt Carr. He performed in England, Africa, Japan, Amsterdam, and Germany. He was in and played on the soundtrack of Sony Pictures film “First Sunday”. Nate also had the opportunity to perform at The White House for President Bush during the Black Music Month Celebration.
In 2009, another life changing decision was made. Nate decided to move to Los Angeles. This has proven to be one of the best moves he’s made. Since his move, he’s had the opportunity to play for Patti Labelle, Babyface, Christopher Cross, Chuck Loeb, Avant, Taio Cruz, Dave Koz, and a host of other artists. He’s appeared on Ellen (NBC), The Monique Show (BET), and Lopez Tonight (TBS). More extensive traveling came along with the move… performing in Australia, Italy, South Africa and several times in Indonesia.
During his professional career, Nate’s had the opportunity to perform and record with a Who’s Who of Gospel and Secular artists. These artists include…
GRAMMY winners Norman Brown, Patti Labelle, Kirk Whalum, Christopher Cross, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Lalah Hathaway, and Jeff Lorber
GRAMMY & STELLAR winners Mary Mary, Smokie Norful, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Karen Clark-Sheard, & Dorinda Clark-Cole
MULTI PLATINUM selling R&B and Pop artists Taio Cruz, Avant, Kelly Price, and JODECI
…as well as
Dave Koz
Chuck Loeb
Jonathan Butler
Kenny Lattimore
Valerie Simpson
Bill Medley
Eric Darius
Tramaine Hawkins
Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers
Maurette Brown-Clark
J. Moss
Vashawn Mitchell
Candy Dulfer
James Fortune & FIYA
Bishop T.D. Jakes
Martha Munizzi
Marvin Sapp
Vicki Yohe
Bishop Paul Morton
Rizen
The Anointed Pace Sisters
David Peaston
Maysa Leak (formerly of Incognito)
Paulis Sanchez
Valerie Boyd
Bernard Harris
Ami Rushes
Malcolm Jamal Warner & Miles Long
Boney James
Tom Braxton
Larry Braggs (formerly of The Temptations and Tower Of Power)
Rahsaan Patterson
Brian Simpson
Phil Perry
Ricky Peterson
Steve Cole
Jackiem Joyner
Marc Antoine
Sheila E
David Benoit
Justin Lee Schultz
Keiko Matsui
Tim Bowman
Javier Colon
Oleta Adams
Kenny Lattimore
Jeffrey Osborne
Elan Trotman
Patches Stewart
Marion Meadows
Gerald Albright
Brian Culbertson
Mindi Abair
Richard Elliot
Eric Marienthal
Paul Jackson, Jr
Everette Harp
Marcus Anderson
Phil Denny
Jeff Kashiwa
Kim Waters