Michael Eckroth is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, arranger, and composer from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, particularly known for his work in

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

."As Cuba Changes, Orquesta Akokan Revives The Golden Age of Mambo"

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, Washington D.C., 15 April 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019."Daptone Taps Cuban Soul on Upcoming Release"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', New York, 4 January 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019."Artist Profile: Michael Eckroth"
"Latin Jazz Network", Toronto, 15 April 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019. He was a member of

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

guitarist John Scofield's New Quartet from 2010-2012. Currently, he is the co-writer, arranger, and pianist for Cuban and American

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

Orquesta Akokán, whose self-titled debut album from

Daptone Records Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Ban ...

was nominated in the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

.“2019 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominations”
''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

'', Los Angeles, 7 December 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019.

Early life and education

Michael Eckroth was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He is from a musical family and is the brother of keyboardist

Rachel Eckroth Rachel Eckroth is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist from Phoenix, Arizona.Regen, Jo“Talent Scout – Rachel Eckroth” "Keyboard", San Francisco, May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018. She is currently the keyboardist for alternative ...

."New Directions"
"

Boulder Weekly ''Boulder Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colorado. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo. Overview After the Loma ...

", Boulder, 14 November 2018, Retrieved on 4 February 2019."Award-winning Khani Cole performs with Rachel Eckroth"
" The Verde Independent", Cottonwood, 22 November 2013, Retrieved on 4 February 2019. He formally studied jazz throughout his career, receiving his B.A. at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and receiving his M.A. at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

."Sounds of Brazil"
"

Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Altern ...

", Tucson, 1995, Retrieved on 15 January 2019.“Dave Loeb and the Jazz Studies Program at UNLV”
“Jazzed Magazine”, Las Vegas, Retrieved on 15 January 2019.
“ NYU News”, New York, 10 August 2006, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. He began pursuing his Ph.D. at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 2006. During this time, he was the recipient of the Díaz-Ayala Library Travel Grant at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

under a

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

Title VI grant in 2012 to conduct research on Cuban music."Díaz-Ayala Library Travel Grants"
"

", Miami, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. He later completed his Ph.D. in 2016, writing his dissertation on Cuban piano solos of the 1940s.

Career

While studying at

, Eckroth became involved in a number of musical projects as a pianist. While Eckroth was a student in an ensemble class led by

guitarist

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

, Scofield invited Eckroth to join his New Quartet with drummer Bill Stewart and bassist

Ben Street Ben Street is an American jazz double bassist. Street has performed and recorded with many renowned artists, including John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Ben Monder, Michael Eckroth, Sam Rivers, Billy Hart, Danilo Perez, Aaron P ...

from 2010-2012."John Scofield: New Morning - The Paris Concert"
"

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

", Philadelphia, 27 September 2011, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. Eckroth appears in the live concert DVD of the group's 2010 concert in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

jazz club A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licens ...

New Morning ''New Morning'' is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 21, 1970 by Columbia Records. Coming only four months after the controversial ''Self Portrait'', the more concise ''New Morning'' rec ...

. Eckroth formed the Latin vocal trio La Voz de Tres with Chilean vocalist Natalia Bernal and guitarist Jason Ennis in 2008."La Voz de Tres: A musical collaboration in every way"
"Bennington Banner", Bennington, 27 April 2017, Retrieved on 15 January 2019."La Voz De Tres At Tempe Center For The Arts"
"

", Philadelphia, 31 October 2014, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. The group released their self-titled debut album in 2010 and their second album ''Sueños y Delirios'' in 2015."La Voz de Tres: Sueños y Delirios"
"World Music Report", Toronto, 21 April 2015, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. Around this time, Eckroth also performed with jazz multi-instrumentalist

Paul McCandless Paul Brownlee McCandless Jr. (born March 24, 1947) is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the American jazz group Oregon. He is one of the few jazz oboists. He also plays bass clarinet, English horn, flute, penny whistle, ...

and Brazilian guitarist Aliéksey Vianna. The trio released a live concert DVD from Brazil in 2009 titled ''Ebano''."Mike Eckroth"
"

", Toronto, 2 October 2015, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. Additionally, Eckroth appeared on Morrie Louden's album ''Time Piece'', which featured singer

Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato (born February 11, 1976) is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke. Pa ...

and guitarist

Lionel Loueke Lionel Loueke (born 27 April 1973) is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin. He moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art. Biography Loueke grew up in what he has described as a family of poor intellectuals in the W ...

."Morrie Louden: Time Piece"
"

", 19 July 2007, Retrieved on 4 February 2019. In 2015, Eckroth released a solo album of Cuban music titled ''Piano and Rhythm''."Mike Eckroth: Piano and Rhythm"
"Latin Jazz Network", Toronto, 27 July 2015, Retrieved on 14 January 2019. Later in 2016, Eckroth released a duo album with bassist

Ron McClure Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist. Early life McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph I ...

titled ''Hello Stars''. Eckroth appeared on Ron McClure's Trio album ''Hope and Knowledge'' as well."BP Recommends: New Releases from Rex Brown, Paul Simon, Rancid, and More"
"

Bass Player Magazine ''Bass Player'' was a magazine for bassists. Each issue offered a variety of artist interviews, lessons, and equipment reviews. The magazine was founded in 1988 as a spinoff of ''Guitar Player'' magazine, with Jim Roberts as its first editor. ...

", Bath, 31 August 2017, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. Eckroth also appeared on saxophonist Dan Pratt's Quartet album ''Hymn for the Happy Man'' with bassist

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jaz ...

and drummer

Greg Hutchinson Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (sometimes spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadian b ...

."New jazz releases to comfort your soul in times of trouble"
"

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

", Los Angeles, 13 June 2016, Retrieved on 15 January 2019. Starting in 2016, Eckroth formed the Cuban and American

big band Orquesta Akokán as its co-writer, arranger, and pianist with singer José "Pepito" Gómez and composer Jacob Plasse. The group is a collaboration of musicians from Cuba and the United States that formed after the normalization of relations between the two countries in 2014. The band recorded their debut album in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.EGREM EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in Centro Habana, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 ...

state-run Areíto Studios, where notable musicians like

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Benny Moré Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

have recorded."Orquesta Akokan, Echoes Of A Cuban Past Recorded In Havana"
"

", Washington D.C., 19 January 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019."U.S./Cuba partnership: Orquesta Akokan will perform Sunday at SECCA"
"

Winston-Salem Journal The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina. The paper is owned by Lee Enterprises. ''The Journ ...

", Winston-Salem, 5 September 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019. The group's debut album was released by

in 2018, and it was the record label's first all Spanish-language recording. The album was nominated for the

in the "Best Tropical Latin Album" category. Eckroth also served as the arranger and pianist for Calle Mambo Project's 2018 album ''See The Light''."Calle Mambo Project: See The Light"
"Latin Jazz Network", Toronto, 15 April 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019. He is currently part of the jazz faculty at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

."'Keep Your Values At The Heart Of Your Art': Art Awardees Hear From Acclaimed Alum Filmmaker"
"Hop Backstage", Hanover, 30 May 2018, Retrieved on 14 January 2019.

Awards and honors

2019: Nominated in the

in the "Best Tropical Latin Album" category for the self-titled debut album by Orquesta Akokán.

Selected discography

As leader/co-leader/arranger

Orquesta Akokán

* ''Orquesta Akokán'' (2018) * ''16 Rayos'' (2021)

Michael Eckroth

* ''Piano and Rhythm'' (2015) * ''Sombrío'' (2010)

Ron McClure Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist. Early life McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph I ...
& Michael Eckroth

* ''Hello Stars'' (2016)

La Voz de Tres

* ''Sueños y Delirios'' (2015) * ''La Voz de Tres'' (2010)

Calle Mambo Project

* ''See The Light'' (2018)

DEF Trio

* ''Bushwick'd'' (2014)

As a band member/session artist

: ''Hope and Knowledge'' (2017) * Dan Pratt Quartet (with

and

): ''Hymn for the Happy Man'' (2016) *

: ''Crunch Time'' (2012) *

: ''Dedication'' (2011) *

New Quartet: ''New Morning: The Paris Concert (DVD)'' (2010) *

and Aliéksey Vianna: ''Ebano (DVD)'' (2009) * Morrie Louden (with

and

): ''Time Piece'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckroth, Michael American jazz keyboardists Latin jazz musicians Latin jazz keyboardists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people