2022 Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion Program

JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Philip Dizack is one of the most important and versatile jazz
trumpeters of his generation, fulfilling DownBeat magazine’s 2007
proclamation “[one of twenty-five] Trumpet Players for the Future.”
In 2019, Dizack joined Israeli-born pianist Shai Maestro’s newly
expanded quartet. The band’s subsequent album, Human, was
released on the ECM label in January of 2021 to critical acclaim.
Philip was also a featured soloist on the 2021 recording Assembly
of Shadows by Remy Le Boeuf which received two Grammy©
nominations for Best Instrumental Composition and Best
Instrumental Arrangement.
PHILIP DIZACK
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ TRUMPET -
IMPROVISATION EMPHASIS
COORDINATOR OF JAZZ CHAMBER MUSIC
In his late teens and early twenties, Dizack was mentored in the
tradition through his time performing, touring and recording with
Jazz Messenger Bobby Watson and eight-time Grammy© winner
and Latin Jazz legend Eddie Palmieri. He has since performed
and recorded alongside an extremely wide array of musicians
unencumbered by generation or genre - in clubs, concert halls,
arenas, stadiums and on television and films in over 25 countries.
A truncated list of artists includes Wycliffe Gordon, Thundercat,
Nicholas Payton, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Immanuel
Wilkins, Kamasi Washington, Aaron Parks, Ben Wendel, Melissa
Aldana, Greg Tardy, Myron Walden, Jon Batiste, Morrissey,
Foreigner, Robert Redford and many more.
In 2019, alongside touring and performing, Philip was appointed
assistant professor of jazz trumpet at the University of North
Texas. Philip Dizack has released three solo albums and has been
featured on over 35 albums as a supporting member.
With an international presence in several facets of the music
industry, Rosana Eckert wears many hats as a versatile live
and studio vocalist, dynamic improviser, creative songwriter
and arranger and a lauded educator of jazz and voice. She has
performed and recorded with many jazz luminaries, including
Christian McBride, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Wheeler and the
New York Voices. Recently she was one of the three vocalists
on the 2021 Grammy Award-winning composition Eberhard
by legendary jazz pianist Lyle Mays. Rosana’s latest solo
album, Sailing Home, was praised as “bright and innovative”
(AllAboutJazz) and “alluring” (Jazz Weekly), and in 2021, her
Brazilian jazz fusion band, Brasuka, released their debut
album of original songs titled A Vida Com Paixão. Celebrated
as “addictively joyful” (Exclusive Magazine) and “positively
infectious” (The Big Takeaway), the album received 4 stars in
DownBeat magazine, was featured in Jazz Times magazine and
made several “Best of 2021” lists.
ROSANA ECKERT
PRINCIPAL LECTURER OF VOCAL JAZZ
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
Rosana is also a member of the Mike Steinel Quintet, utilizing
her instrumental background to vocally function like an alto
saxophone. The group’s second album of original music Saving
Charlie Parker was released in September 2022. An alumna of
UNT, Rosana was the first woman and first minority added to its
esteemed jazz faculty in 1999, helping build its renowned vocal
jazz program. Her many published arrangements, original songs,
and educational resources, including her method book Singing
with Expression, are used by singers worldwide. In addition to her
live performing, writing and teaching, Rosana works regularly as
a studio vocalist, producer and voice-over actor.
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