J. B. Eckl
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J. B. Eckl (/ˈɛkəɫ/) is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and recording artist. Eckl lives in Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the Bahá'í Faith.
[edit] Background
Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Eckl played guitar and studied with many Chicago blues musicians as they toured across the Prairies. He left Canada for Mexico at 17 to play in his first steady band in San Miguel de Allende, and upon his return, became interested in the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, later becoming a member of that religion. He further traveled extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean, and settled in Los Angeles looking for musical collaborators.
[edit] Musical career
After doing some guitar session work with Latin pop producer K. C. Porter, Eckl signed as a staff songwriter for Porter's Insignia Music, a joint venture with Paramount subsidiary Famous Music Publishing. Soon after, he was asked to go on tour with a '70s funk band War, and spent two years traveling and playing with other musicians, most notably Carlos Santana. He later worked with K. C. Porter again to write and produce two tracks for Santana's Supernatural, and another track of Santana's Shaman. The Shaman track, 'One of These Days' features Eckl's lead vocal. Eckl performed this song on stage at the Hollywood Bowl at the time of Shaman's release.
Other collaborations with Porter included projects with King Chango, Ozomatli, and Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club. As a songwriter, Eckl's songs appear on albums by R&B stars En Vogue, jazz guitar legend Larry Carlton, UK electronic group Outside and others. Eckl also wrote the musical score for the South African film Cape of Good Hope.
Eckl produced a solo album for WAR's Lonnie Jordan along with long-time collaborator and WAR bassist Pancho Tomaselli. The album, 'War Stories', was released on Fantasy Records in the summer of 2007.
In 2007 Eckl released a devotional CD with Gospel artist Eric Dozier entitled 'Badasht Vol. 1 - While the City Sleeps.'
Current projects include an album of Eckl's own material and another duo project with Dozier under the name Moanin' Sons.
