Artists - Yamaha

Jack Gibson

Exodus

Nathan East

Nathan East has been a Yamaha artist for more than three decades and remains one of the world's most sought-after musicians. As a bassist, producer & songwriter, Nathan has collaborated with numerous top artists from Barry White and Kenny Loggins to Eric Clapton and Anita Baker.

Lee Ritenour

Starting at the age of 16, Lee played his first session with The Mama's and the Papa's. Two years later he was backing Tony Bennett and Lena Horne at L.A.'s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Known as "Captain Fingers," Ritenour became a sought-after session player in the mid-70's. Starting in 1976, at the age of 24, he began his own solo career which now includes over 30 albums and collaborations. Although heavily influenced in his early days by the relaxed styles of Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass and Barney Kessel, he now has his own distinctive sound and fluid style. His list of session work is awesome (some 3,000 sessions), but some of his notable performances were with Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Pink Floyd. Since the mid-80's Ritenour has been strongly influenced by Brazilian music.

Anders Osborne

Solo

Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz is one of today's most ceaselessly creative singer/songwriters. Not only has he scored massive hits with each of his three albums--he's done so via songs fueled by witty, literate lyrics and inventive vocal melodies.

Mike Stern

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, 1953. Mike Stern is one of the leading guitarists on the contemporary jazz scene. Began playing at age 12, putting down Clapton and Hendrix licks, but switches to jazz at Berklee College of Music in 1971.

Steve Lukather

Versatile musician, guitarist, vocalist, composer, producer and arranger Steve Lukather was born in Los Angeles on October 21 in 1957. Before his father bought him a guitar and a copy of Meet the Beatles at the age of seven, Luke started to play drums and keyboards. "I love keyboards, I write all my songs on keyboards except for the real obvious 'burn' tunes. I find it much easier, you have all these great synth sounds and you play a C chord and it's sounds like God, and you start thinking melodies as opposed to chops."(Lukather, 1986).

Oliver EngQvist

Session

John Patitucci

Born in 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, John Patitucci began playing the electric bass at the age of ten. As a studio musician, John has played on countless albums and soundtracks with artists such as B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Was Not Was, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, Sting, and Carly Simon.

Marc Broussard

Solo