With an international presence as a masterful vocalist, deep improviser, versatile songwriter, and a tasteful arranger, Rosana Eckert has often been called a musical force. Her shows are an effortless blend of tradition and originality, sincerity and virtuosity, humor and heart. Her jazz roots are strong and ever-present as she bounces from genre to genre, creating special featured moments for her band mates and taking listeners on a musical adventure such that they feel included, entertained, and inspired. A regular performer throughout the U.S. and abroad, she has sung with such jazz greats as Lyle Mays, Christian McBride, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Wheeler, George Duke, Jon Faddis, Tamir Hendelman, Marvin Stamm, and the New York Voices. She has also been recorded as a featured improviser with renowned vocal group Groove for Thought. Her highly anticipated third solo album titled Sailing Home, produced by renowned singer/pianist/arranger Peter Eldridge, features all original music and was released on June 21, 2019 on Origin OA2 Records.
Formerly an accomplished French horn player, Rosana began singing jazz while studying music theory and French horn performance in college. After switching course and pursuing a Master's degree in jazz studies as a vocalist, she kicked off her jazz career as a member of the IAJE 1999 Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Sextet which performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival. She was also selected to participate in the 2000 Thelonious Monk Aspen Jazz Colony led by musical director Christian McBride, with several of her performances appearing on the BET Jazz channel. Her debut solo CD, At the End of the Day, was praised as a “superior debut” by Cadence Magazine and was a finalist for Best New Jazz Album in the 2006 Independent Music Awards. Since then, she has recorded two more solo albums, two duo projects, and recorded debut albums of original music with two new bands: the Mike Steinel Quintet featuring Rosana Eckert (Origin OA2 Records June 2018), and Brasuka, a percussion-heavy Brazilian-inspired jazz ensemble co-founded by Rosana. Brasuka's album will release in spring 2021 on the Origin World label.
A renowned educator, Rosana is Principal Lecturer of jazz voice at the University of North Texas. She has helped build the thriving UNT vocal jazz department since 1999, teaching private jazz voice lessons and performance techniques, and creating new courses in songwriting and vocal pedagogy. Her students have gone on to win Grammy Awards and prestigious competitions, tour the world as solo artists and back-up vocalists, establish music schools and private lesson studios, publish choral arrangements, and work as studio singers on movie soundtracks and commercials. Rosana also serves on the faculty of the UNT Vocal Jazz Summer Workshop and the New York Voices Summer Vocal Jazz Camp, and she is in demand as a clinician, festival adjudicator, guest conductor, and choral composer/arranger. Her many vocal ensemble arrangements, published by Sound Music Publications, Hal Leonard Corp., and Rosana Eckert Music, have been performed worldwide. Passionate about sharing jazz with children, she co-wrote a jazz musical for young voices with author/educator Sharon Burch titled Freddie the Frog and the Jungle Jazz (published by Hal Leonard). The two also collaborated on a recently released elementary music collection called Jazz And Kids: Song and Activities for a Swingin' Classroom. A highly respected improviser, Rosana is a featured artist on the vocal improvisation app Scatability by Michele Weir, and she is the female vocalist on the demo CD for Darmon Meader’s book titled, “Vocal Jazz Improvisation: An Instrumental Approach,” available at DarmonMeader.com. She also co-hosts the monthly Vocal Jazz Improvisation Boot Camp online with Darmon Meader. Rosana's book, Singing with Expression: A Guide to Authentic and Adventurous Song Interpetation has been called ground-breaking, encyclopedic, and an unparalleled resource for contemporary singers. It was released in June 2018, published by Hal Leonard.
In addition to her extensive live performing, writing, and teaching, Rosana works regularly as a studio vocalist, producer, and voice-over actor in Dallas, TX. As a voice-over actor, she is represented by the Kim Dawson Agency, she is the in-house announcer for Dallas' award-winning PBS TV Station, KERA, and has spoken on many commercials and industrial spots for clients such as AT&T, Petsmart, Direct Energy, Comcast, and EA Games. She has served as a producer on a wide array of musical projects, from solo vocal albums to children’s musical theater, and as a studio vocalist, Rosana has sung on hundreds of commercials, album projects, publishing demos, and radio IDs heard around the world.
