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