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Marcus EJ
Strickland Strickland
Marcus EJ
Strickland Strickland     |
E.J. Strickland 
Drummer E.J. Strickland is currently a member of the long-lived quartet of Ravi Coltrane (along with Luis Perdomo & Drew Gress), and his brother Marcus Strickland's celebrated electric/acoustic quartets & trio. He also leads his own bands, The E.J. Strickland Quintet & The E.J. Strickland Project. His playing has been described as emitting "fields of cumulative energy, clouds of feather-touch and heavy-handed syncopations, latent with power like an oncoming storm" (Thomas Conrad, Downbeat Magazine). Amongst his discography of over 25 album titles with various recording artists, his long-anticipated debut album "In This Day" (Strick Muzik) was released in May of 2009. Enoch Jamal Strickland was born in Gainesville and raised in Miami, Florida. His father, a former percussionist for the Fort Lauderdale Symphony Orchestra and a jazz enthusiast, immersed E.J. and his twin bother Marcus with music from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, The Jazz Crusaders, Led Zeppelin, and Jimmy Hendricks. Unsurprisingly, he chose to study music when he turned 11, and decided to pursue a career as a professional musician a year later. He attended The New World School of the Arts (Miami) for high school, studying classical music as well as jazz. He found great influences in drummers like Elvin Jones, "Philly" Joe Jones, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Brian Blade, and many, many others. After meeting Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis, and Bobby Watson at Miami clinics, the Strickland brothers decided to go to New York City to further pursue their studies and goals. In 1997, E.J. attended The New School for Social Research, where he studied piano, polished his skills as a composer, and studied with some of the world's greatest drummers: Joe Chambers, Michael Carvin, Carl Allen, Ralph Peterson, Lewis Nash, and Jimmy Cobb. He started to develop a sound when The Marcus Strickland Quartet was formed, adding classmates Robert Glasper and Brandon Owens. Before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Performance, he had already performed with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Nneenna Freelon, Abbey Lincoln, Christian McBride, Herbie Hancock, Wessell Anderson, and Dianne Reeves. E.J. is also currently touring & performing with Cassandra Wilson, George Colligan quartet & trio, and the David Gilmore trio. |
Marcus Strickland 
"Marcus Strickland has started to turn heads in the most thriving but most competitive jazz scene on the planet ...his tone: liquid and luminous, yet forceful and exact."
Marcus Strickland's third release on Strick Muzik Idiosyncrasies finds the world-renowned saxophonist in the setting of his exhilarating trio (with bassist Ben Williams and drummer E.J. Strickland). From the start of the record it is truly apparent that you will not be able to sit still with the poppin' groove of Strickland's opening original "Cuspy's Delight", written for the drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. The catchy melody soaring above the rhythmic playground of bass and drums immediately dives into Strickland's sax solo, which will make you consider whether the horn is a percussion or woodwind instrument. Then just when an idea of the album's direction starts to formulate Strickland's second original "Rebirth", a song about the healing powers of love, tantalizes the listener's chakras with his sax whispering the chant-like melody through the interweaving bass harmony. "Idiosyncrasies" takes you on an acoustic journey that is rare to find these days. The album's title refers to what Strickland has developed through his horn and music, a sound so strong and distinct that in addition to his own intriguing compositions he, on other half of the record, is able to put his own stamp on cross-genre gems from Bjork, Andre 3000, Jose Gonzalez, Stevie Wonder, Jaco Pastorius and Oumou Sangare - this all done without the commonly expected use of substitute harmony. The many textures of horn, bass and drums are fully utilized on this album to create hip-shakin' African grooves, Electronica inflections, funky odd-metered bass figures and high-octane swing - Idiosyncrasies is a true testament to Strickland's eclectic musical upbringing, as well as his refusal to fit in a box. *** Marcus Strickland (born 1979 in Gainesville, FL) is a jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist from Miami, FL who currently lives in New York. He was named 'Rising Star, Soprano Saxophone' in Downbeat Magazine's Critic's Poll '08 and 'Best New Artist' in JazzTimes Magazine's Reader's Poll '06; placed third in the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition; has two releases on Fresh Sound New Talent Records as a leader ("At Last" and "Brotherhood"); one release on Criss Cross Records ("Of Song"); and three releases ("Twi-Life, Open Reel Deck & Idiosyncrasies") on his own music label Strick Muzik (launched in 2006). The aspiring saxophonist has been on two Grammy-nominated recordings ("Fountain of Youth" - Roy Haynes & "Keystone" - Dave Douglas). In addition to his own trio and quartet, Strickland currently plays with Dave Douglas, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, and Will Calhoun. He also recently ended a five-year stint with legendary drummer Roy Haynes. Strickland has gained professional & artistic integrity through experiences with Roy Haynes, Mos Def, Dave Douglas, Nicholas Payton, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Christian McBride, Charles Tolliver Big Band, Tom Harrell, Will Calhoun, Lonnie Plaxico, The Carnegie Hall Big Band, The Mingus Band, the Village Vanguard Band, Milt Jackson Big Band, and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, just to name a few. |
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