Feb. 15, 2021

Multiple Lifetimes In One With Kai Eckhardt (Pt 1)

T.L. Mazumdar talks to legendary Liberian-German Jazz-Fusion Bassist Kai-Eckhardt.

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Show Notes
Guest Profile

The life of Kai Eckhardt reads like one unbelievable series of multiple lifetimes' worth of experiences squeezed into one so far.

Born 1961 in Mainz, Germany to the Liberian '50 cent Doctor' of a polygamist tribe who went on to become the country's President's medical advisor after finishing a degree in medicine from New York City where he'd landed as a stowaway, and a Lutheran-Evangelist German mother who survived the Allied Forces bombings of Nazi Germany as a 10-year-old by sheer chance, only to go on to be shunned by her family and friends for marrying a black man, Kai Eckhardt's contribution to the world of Jazz-fusion is etched into history books as founding bass-player for one of the most important Jazz Guitar Trios of the world with John McLaughlin and Trilok Gurtu.

A career he walked away from to return to Germany to nurse his foster father in his last years while watching him redeem a soul plagued by the conscience of an SSS fighter who escaped Russian captivity shortly before the end of WWII, saved only by the convenient coincidence of not having being tattooed with the symbol due to late enrolment.

All before he eventually migrated to California where he went on to make waves with his genre-bending band Garaj Mahal , and lives in with his partner (now wife) of 30 years with whom he fathers two offsprings.

In this first part of two episodes, I dive in deep with my dear friend and mentor Kai Eckhardt to visit the earliest years of his childhood growing up as Germany's first generation of colored natives amidst the disturbing, heartbreaking yet soul-stirring and conflicted era of post-WWII Germany. One which still employed Third Reich veterans as school teachers and sports coaches and stands testimony to the country's ever-evolving and conflicted stand on its contemporary identity.

This episode is brought to you by www.everynowheremusic.com

Recorded on a Z oom L8 Mixer kindly sponsored by https://www.sound-service.eu

Connect with Kai:

Website : https://kaieckhardt.com/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/kai.eckhardt.94
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/kaizone61/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/kaieckhardt?lang=en

Connect with T.L. / EveryNowHere

Website: www.findtl.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar

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Music and Audio Production: www.everynowheremusic.com

Episode Notes / Text : www.tlwrites.com

Kai Eckhardt

German born bassist/composer Kai Eckhardt began playing music in the year 1975. Born in 1961, he spent his
early years in both Germany and Liberia/West-Africa.
Kai eventually moved to the United States to attend Berklee College of music in Boston, the college from which
he graduated with honors in 1987.

During his time in Boston, Kai held the bass chair in the Bob Moses Group as
well as in the ensemble “Tiger’s Baku”, led by trumpeter Tiger Okoshi. In 1987 Kai applied for a teaching position
at Berklee and was accepted into the bass faculty by Rich Appleman. But before receiving his appointment he was
introduced to John McLaughlin by vibraphonist Gary Burton who had been Kai’s improvisation teacher at Berklee.

Kai Eckhardt joined the John McLaughlin trio in the fall of 1988 together with Trilok Gurtu on percussion. For their
artistic excellence, this particular outfit of John’s trio has often been credited with making history in pushing the
envelope of fusing modern jazz with South Indian classical music. During the years 1988-1990 This trio produced
two major albums. "Live at the Royal Festival Hall" went to the top of the billboard jazz charts while the band
toured all over the world until 1990 when Kai took a hiatus from touring to care for his ailing foster parents in
Germany.

Kai began his official US residency in 1995 by receiving the prestigious E1-visa known also as the “Einstein visa”
reserved for individuals at the top of their profession. Kai returned to the stage to join drummer Billy Cobh… Read More