Kai Eckhardt
Encyclopedia
Kai Eckhardt is a German
musician and composer
who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin
, Vital Information
, the band he co-founded Garaj Mahal
and Billy Cobham
. The Jaco Pastorius
-influenced bassist is known for his ability to play lightning fast, and for his unique combination of funk
, jazz
, and world music
which he combines in his playing.
at age 15, Kai began to establish himself as a respected musician, working with the likes of Aydin Esen
, Alphonse Mouzon
, Randy Brecker
, Torsten de Winkel
, Steve Smith
, and Stanley Clarke
, shortly after entering college. Kai's first major undertaking came in 1988 when he formed the John Mclaughlin Trio with percussionist Trilok Gurtu, and John McLaughlin
. The trio toured extensively in the years to come and recorded a number of albums, including Que Alegria
in 1992. Afterwards, Kai turned his attention to composing, while performing meanwhile with the Billy Cobham
International Quartet. He currently tours with Garaj Mahal
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
musician and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, Vital Information
Vital Information
Steve Smith and Vital Information is an American jazz fusion group led by drummer Steve Smith.Vital Information was formed from the two groups, Frank Keyboard and The Keyboards and Pennywhistle Pokkett, both massively influential on the jazz and blues scene, by Steve Smith in 1983 with friends Tim...
, the band he co-founded Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal is a four piece band, based in the United States, playing a fusion of jazz, Indian music, rock, and especially funk: Kai Eckhardt , Fareed Haque , Alan Hertz , Sean Rickman and Eric Levy...
and Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
. The Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
-influenced bassist is known for his ability to play lightning fast, and for his unique combination of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
which he combines in his playing.
History
Soon after learning to play bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
at age 15, Kai began to establish himself as a respected musician, working with the likes of Aydin Esen
Aydin Esen
Aydın Esen is a Turkish jazz musician who plays keyboards and electronics.Esen began music lessons at the age of 5 in Turkey. He moved to the United States when he was awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston,also he graduated from Berklee College of Music in two semesters and...
, Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
, Randy Brecker
Randy Brecker
Randal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
, Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel
Torsten de Winkel is a German musician and composer primarily active in the jazz and world music genres...
, Steve Smith
Steve Smith (musician)
Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
, and Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...
, shortly after entering college. Kai's first major undertaking came in 1988 when he formed the John Mclaughlin Trio with percussionist Trilok Gurtu, and John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
. The trio toured extensively in the years to come and recorded a number of albums, including Que Alegria
Que Alegria
Qué Alegría is an album by the John McLaughlin Trio, featuring Trilok Gurtu, Dominique Di Piazza and Kai Eckhardt. It was released on the Verve label in 1992.The Allmusic review by Richard S...
in 1992. Afterwards, Kai turned his attention to composing, while performing meanwhile with the Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
International Quartet. He currently tours with Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal is a four piece band, based in the United States, playing a fusion of jazz, Indian music, rock, and especially funk: Kai Eckhardt , Fareed Haque , Alan Hertz , Sean Rickman and Eric Levy...
.