Mike Eckroth elegantly explores the cultures and traditions of the world from man's point of view in his album "Human Geography"

 

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Musicians: Michael Eckroth (piano, keyboards); Raúl Reyes (bass 3, 4, 7, 8); Edward Pérez (bass 6, 9, 10); Alex “Apolo” Ayala (bass 1, 2, 5); Joel Mateo: drums; Mauricio Herrera, Carlos Maldonado (percussion); Matt Hilgenburg (trumpet 1, 5); Alex Norris (trumpet 1, 2); Peter Brainin (tenor saxophone)

Tracks List: Human Geography; 2. Little B’s Poem; 3. Freedom in Precision; 4. Kachina; 5. New Bomba; 6. In 15; 7. Funk Gets It; 8. Hilton; 9. Ballad in Three; 10. New Years Day

The album opens with its title track, featuring piano trio with horns. The piece “Human Geography” stands as an apt summation of a series of compositions Eckroth wrote that incorporate jazz with a guaguancó rhythmic sensibility. On this track, Eckroth utilizes a 5/4 rhythmic basis over a long harmonic form, culminating in a vamp, with both sections acting as vehicles for improvisation. “Freedom in Precision” similarly leans into guaguancó jazz rhythms, while harmonically and structurally standing in contrast by periodically shifting to single-chord vamps instead of remaining strictly bipartite in form. “Kachina” is loosely Afro-Cuban in sensibility, but veers from the norm in that its support beam is an angular bass line with a rich harmonic ecosystem atop it. Notably, “Kachina” showcases the use of synthesizer for orchestration, which Eckroth notes is a sound he’s leaning increasingly towards as a poignant palette within composition. “Little B’s Poem” is set apart in that it is the only piece on the album that is an arrangement, not an original composition. An ode to Herbie Hancock and Bobby Hutcherson, the piece aligned neatly with the vision of the album, and features trumpeter Alex Norris, saxophonist Peter Brainin, and drummer Joel Mateo. “New Bomba” is a piece composed heartily upon a series of interwoven ostinatos, with the Puerto Rican bomba rhythm as the basis for them all. The album concludes with “Hilton”, the title of which is a tribute to the great Hilton Ruiz, whose music has become increasingly influential on Eckroth.

Eckroth is quick to give praise to his band members in achieving the powerful vibrancy of this album. All of the musicians on the album are longstanding collaborators for Eckroth, with each one representing a lengthy history of performing and creating together. Above all, Eckroth values the musicians’ ability to fit anywhere and envision anything. “These musicians are supremely flexible, and most importantly are able to bring out more than what’s intended by the compositions and arrangements,” Eckroth says. “It’s a group aesthetic that has been nurtured over several years of sporadic playing.” The album boasts multiple arrangements of piano trios, changing bassists and percussionists both to suit the needs of each piece and to represent different moments in Eckroth’s musical history. The personnel on Human Geography is Michael Eckroth (piano, Rhodes, keyboards); Joel Mateo (drums); Raul Reyes, Edward Perez, and Alex “Apolo” Ayala (bass); Mauricio Herrera and Carlos Maldonado (percussion); Matt Hilgenburg and Alex Norris (trumpet); and Peter Brainin (tenor saxophone). 

With Human Geography, Eckroth showcases not only his indomitable command of the piano keys and the heartstrings, but the intentional beauty of careful knowledge as each piece, each groove, and each collaboration is a masterfully crafted charter between cultures and worlds. Truly, Human Geography stands as a landmark in the truest sense as it denotes the histories and traditions within the locale of the human experience.

Mike Eckroth:

Michael Eckroth is an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer from Phoenix, Arizona, particularly known for his work in Latin jazz. He was a member of jazz-rock guitarist John Scofield's New Quartet from 2010-2012. Currently, he is the co-writer, arranger, and pianist for Cuban and American mambo big band Orquesta Akokán, whose self-titled debut album from Daptone Records Was nominated in the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Throughout a varied career which covers musical styles from Latin jazz, R&B, pop, salsa and world music in general, Michael has shared the stage with performers with as varied pedigrees as pop icon Sheena Easton and jazz legends John Scofield, Ron McClure, Eliot Zigmund and Paul McCandless. In an over 15 year stint as a New York-based musician, Michael performed on local stages everywhere from major jazz clubs like Blue Note, Birdland, and Smalls to larger NYC venues such as Lincoln Center’s summer stage and Joe’s Pub. On the international stage, Michael has performed in venue and festival settings everywhere from the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, the North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz al Parque and Salsa al Parque in Bogotá, SFJazz, WOMAD festivals in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand- all over the United States, the Americas and Europe in concert halls, jazz clubs and outdoor events.

Michael is an avid recording artist, writer and arranger who continues to draw accolades for his work in various settings. With several solo albums to his name, he also is called upon as a collaborator who has worked on dozens of original-music albums as pianist, keyboardist, or musical director. Among the many collaborations he’s brought forward are the groups La Voz De Tres (with Jason Ennis and Natalia Bernal) and DEFtrio (with Greg Diamond), and various productions with the broadway/R&B artist Syndee Winters. He has also worked alongside grammy-awarded producer Jacob Plasse on a variety of popular and world music projects as writer and arranger. He currently records as a solo artist or collaboratively for Daptone and Truth Revolution records in NYC. His newest album as a leader, Plena will be released in September of 2021.

Michael began his piano studies in classical music at the age of four but only began to take music seriously as a vocation after being introduced to jazz improvisation in high school (Phoenix, Arizona), which soon led to a long-standing relationship with world popular music, and in particular, Brazilian and Latin Jazz music forms. In addition to decades of experience performing and recording jazz, world music and American music in general, he completed a bachelor’s degree (University of Arizona) and master’s degree(University of Nevada) while furthering a national and international profile as a writer/pianist and becoming a family man and father of three.

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