Born: September 27, 1945 Primary Instrument: Trumpet
Played traditional jazz (Dixieland) in Connecticut, starting late '60s. Studied classical music. Played trumpet with New Haven Symphony.
1973-1980: David Bromberg Band, 5 albums, annual tours to present.
1974: Toured with Gregg Allman, album, “Gregg Allman Live.”
1970s: Recorded with Bonnie Raitt, Paul Butterfield, Gloria Gaynor.
1980s: Toured and recorded with Leon Redbone, recorded with Bob Dylan.
1987-1995: 1st trumpet with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks (1920s style big band), 2 albums.
1986-2001: Played with Marty Grosz (1930s swing), 4 albums.
1986-2000: Many jazz festivals, jazz parties in US, Europe, and Far East. Concerts with Dick Hyman at 92nd St. Y, NYC. 4 traditional jazz solo albums, 2 for Arbors Jazz, one each for Jazzology and Stomp Off.
2001: Duet album with Louis Mazetier (piano). Won the Fats Waller Prize (Jazz Institute of France). Available at www.jazzconnaisseur.ch.
1990s: Played with Peter Gordon's Love of Life Orchestra and Lenny Pickett Ensemble (contemporary music).
Recorded with Woody Allen. Played on score of 3 Allen movies in 1990s.
1995-present: Jay Ungar/Molly Mason Band (Americana), album on Angel.
1996-present: Instructor: Swing Improvisation at Ashokan (music camp for adults).
1997-present: Lindy Hop Heaven (swing dance music), 2 albums.
1998-2000: Howard Fishman Quartet, 2 albums.
2001-2004: Produced 3 jazz albums for Jump Start Records (York, PA).
2003-2008: Copyist for Saturday Night Live (NBC).
2003: Copyist and orchestrator for album “Geoff Muldaur's Private Astronomy.” Music of Bix Beiderbecke.
2003: Arranger and copyist for Beiderbecke centennial album on Arbors Jazz.
2004-2009: Played with Doveman, indie rock band led by pianist/singer Thomas Bartlett.
2005: Arranged/produced/recorded album with Scott “Lucky” Foster, “Potted Palm Orchestra.” 1930s hotel orchestra with mostly Midi instruments.
2006: Arranged/produced/recorded album for Music Minus One, “The Further Adventures of Bix Beiderbecke.”
2009: For Music Minus One: ”Back to Basie, Back to Basics.”
2009: Formed “Blue Suitcase Trio.” CD to be released in 2010.
Publications: ”Louis Armstrong: Great Trumpet Solos” (1995, Charles Colin, NY), “Bix Beiderbecke: Great Trumpet Solos” (1998, Colin). Articles on jazz in Historic Brass Association Journal, 2000 and 2002.
- Marianne Mangan, Michael Steinman's Jazz Lives.
”I’ve been especially impressed by the trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist Peter Ecklund. As we used to put it, he’s “saying something” when he plays. I've heard Ecklund now in a number of different contexts. He can remind you, at times, of a host of people from Armstrong to Beiderbecke to Harry James to Harry Edison to Art Farmer, but his approach, including a sound that’s multi-textured and rich with contrasts, is totally individuated. Just a few notes and you know that it’s him. His solos, consistently crafted with wit and intelligence--unerringly MUSICAL--can be powerfully dynamic and emotive, and his presence in an ensemble always serves to extend the musicians he’s working with. In his own group, Blue Suitcase, which has been playing occasionally at the Greenwich Village Bistro on Carmine Street, he draws not only on jazz but on a classical training, extensive experience with rock and pop bands, outstanding song writing and arranging skills, computer technology and a droll sense of humor, to produce music that’s inventive, edgy and immediately seductive. He’s a genuine artist. The real thing.”
--from “The War is Over: A Conversation About Jazz with Robert Levin,” Buzzle.com
