Nathan Cavaleri is an Australian blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

 guitarist and former child actor

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

.

Biography

Cavaleri was diagnosed with leukaemia at a very early age and this led to playing the guitar to take his mind off the disease. He has since beaten the disease. He began playing at the age of six after using a full-sized guitar with a shaved neck (to accommodate smaller hands). At the age of nine he played with Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

, who described his playing as "unbelievable". Later he was trained by, and at age thirteen, eventually toured with, B.B. King. Having released three albums with Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

, Cavaleri also has played with Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel

William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...

, Robben Ford

Robben Ford

Robben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...

 and Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...

, been featured on the soundtrack for Free Willy 2

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 family film, directed Dwight H. Little, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment banner. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy, also starring Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg. Free Willy 3: The Rescue, was subsequently...

, and served as a spokesman for Peavey Guitars

Peavey Guitars

Peavey Guitars are electric, acoustic, and electric bass guitars branded by Peavey Electronics, a recognized pioneer in musical instrument manufacturing.-Guitars:*Axcelerator Series**Axcelerator...

. Currently he leads his own band called Nat Col and the Kings, formed with Col Hatchman, formerly of the Screaming Jets

Screaming Jets

The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle in 1989 by front man Dave Gleeson on vocals, Grant Walmsley on guitar and Paul Woseen on bass guitar and backing vocals...

. In Nat Col and the Kings, Cavaleri writes and arranges his own material, employing his unique techniques as he tours.

Discography

• Jammin' with the Cats
• Nathan (1994)
• Dirty Skanks: Voluptuosity
• Nat Col and the Kings : Nat Col and the Kings
• Nat Col and the Kings : Simple Things

External links

• Nat Col and the Kings Facebook Page
• Nathan on H.E.A.R.
• Nathan Cavaleri Biography
• Dirty Skanks website
• Nat Col and the Kings on iTunes
• Nat Col and the Kings website