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E.J. Strickland
Enoch Jamal "E.J." Strickland is the world-class, world-traveled drummer, composer, educator, and artist you've heard on over 60 albums in the last 10-plus years. The Miami native grew up in a creative household, where his dad was a percussionist in the Ft. Lauderdale Orchestra; his twin brother Marcus played the saxophone.
Like so many talented artists before him, E.J. chose the New School to further his jazz education, a course of study that would introduce him to greater technical ability, but really, to the meat of any jazz program: teachers and peers.
E.J. quickly graduated into New York's gigging jazz scene, playing early on with Russell Malone and Ravi Coltrane.
Since then, Strickland has built a successful career as a composer, bandleader, educator, and sideman. He's toured, performed, and recorded with some of the greatest names in contemporary music: Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright, Wynton Marsalis, George Colligan, David Gilmore, Vincent Herring, and Nnenna Freelon, to name a few. As an instructor, he's taught alongside some of the world's best jazz educators: Dave Douglas and Vijay Iyer at the prestigious Banff International Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music, Steve Kirby at University of Manitoba, and Earl MacDonald at University of Connecticut.
As a leader, he's released two albums: 2009's In This Day featuring Marcus Strickland, Jaleel Shaw, Luis Perdomo, and Hans Glawischnig in a blend of musical settings. His most recent release, The Undying Spirit "positively glows…its success comes largely from the leader's ability to inspire the best in his fellow musicians," says Brian Zimmerman, Downbeat Magazine.
In 2015, E.J. brought his eclecticism to a new group, Transient Beings. Founded in the spirit of the present moment, Transient Beings celebrates the one thing we all share: limited time on Earth. With insightful and uplifting lyrics, and a unique instrumentation he hopes to unite his listeners through funk, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and fusion, pairing the complexity of jazz solos with the textured guitar sounds of rock.
Fun. Stirring. Uplifting. Intriguing. Kinetic: There are so many moods and meanings enmeshed into E.J. Strickland's music, his myriad influences and ideas crossing and branching out in every direction.
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Altin Sencalar: Unleashed
by C. Andrew Hovan
Often overshadowed by other solo instruments, the trombone boasts a rich history in jazz--one so vast it could fill volumes. New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, also gave rise to Kid Ory, a pioneer of the “tailgate" style of trombone playing. In the early 1900s, bandleaders often promoted their shows by parading through town on horse-drawn wagons. Trombonists, needing space to extend their instrument's slide, would sit at the back on the open tailgate, projecting their bold, brassy sound into ...
Continue ReadingAltin Sencalar: Unleashed
by Altin Sencalar
Unleashed is an album that captures my overall headspace as an individual. This year I turned 30 years old and welcomed my firstborn child into the world, John Altin Sencalar. Two major milestones in any person's life, but especially mine this year. Unleashed represents my playing, my personality, and my overall attitude towards my career development. When thinking about this album, I take many chances that I would not have done in the past specifically playing the trombone in an ...
Continue ReadingDavid Weiss Sextet: Auteur
by Edward Blanco
Trumpeter, composer and bandleader David Weiss delivers the fourth album from his exquisite sextet entitled Auteur, a French term originally used to define film directors as the “author' of the film and in musical respects here, to mean the director or “scene setters" of the music. A master of the bebop sound Weiss, as stated in the excellent liner notes from author Aidan Levy, “is dedicated to the proposition that there are still new stories to be told from within ...
Continue ReadingLakecia Benjamin: Phoenix Reimagined (Live)
by Mike Jurkovic
The certifiable beauty of Phoenix Reimagined (Live) is that it all happens in very very real time as Lakecia Benjamin comes fiercely into her immediate own and then, in a tear of a performance that blisters the paint on the wall, surpasses herself. It is a momentous achievement. One that we rarely get to hear up close, personal and live. Benjamin cuts through the malaise of an empire falling, burning down the ministry of b.s. as she wields ...
Continue ReadingLakecia Benjamin: Phoenix
by Angelo Leonardi
A dodici anni dal debutto funk di Retox e dopo il sentito omaggio a John e Alice Coltrane di tre anni fa (Pursuance: The Coltranes) la sassofonista newyorchese realizza il disco della prima maturità, dimostrando di saper padroneggiare le molte influenze assimilate dall'infanzia. Influenze che partono dalla musica latina che ascoltava nel quartiere di Washington Heights e attraversano la Black Music nella sua interezza, da Sly Stone, James Brown, Charlie Parker e i boppers fino a John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter ...
Continue ReadingWillie Morris: Conversation Starter
by David A. Orthmann
The story is old, predictable and often exasperating. A virtually unknown jazz musician distinguishes himself or herself as part of the supporting cast on a handful of recordings. And then begins the wait to see if any label will offer the young, deserving player a shot in the driver's seat. Early this year, two releases on Posi-Tone Records stimulated an appetite for more music by Willie Morris. The tenor saxophonist acquitted himself well as an ensemble player, ...
Continue ReadingJean-Paul Bourelly: Black Lives - From Generation to Generation
by Vic Albani
Doppio CD o doppio vinile prodotto in HI-Res e con packaging di lusso dalla Jammin'colorS, agenzia per artisti jazz, world, funk, alternativi, hip-hop, electro e sperimentali nonché etichetta indipendente. Il lavoro che ha pubblicato in tanta pompa magna è un ampio collage di musica nera realizzato da 25 musicisti africani, caraibici e afroamericani guidati dalla visione creativa di Stefany Calembert (compagna del bassista jazz Reggie Washington) e produttrice estemporanea dell'etichetta belga. A tutti è stato chiesto di comporre ...
Continue ReadingUpcoming Music Events At Harlem Stage (marcus Strickland, José James, Nona Hendryx, More)
Source:
Matt Gross
WHEN THE MOON TURNS GREEN: THE MYTH AND MUSIC OF BILLIE HOLIDAY Harlem Stage Gatehouse Tuesday, April 28 Time: 7:30pm Free with RSVP Join us as Dr. Robert O’Meally, author of Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday, Dr. Farah Jasmin Griffin, author of If You Can’t Be Free, Be A Mystery and Dr. John Szwed, author of the forthcoming Billie Holiday: A Musical Biography, explore the mythand music of the ...
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Poetic Rhythms: Jazz and Poetry with Robert Pinsky and Stan Strickland
Source:
Larry Keller
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky combines his interest in jazz and poetry in a music-inflected reading with renowned jazz musicians Stan Strickland (saxophone), John Lockwood (bass) and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums) on Saturday, December 10, at 8pm, at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton. Pinsky, a professor of creative writing at Boston University and author of 19 books, is known for his ability to bring poetry to life. Strickland, a singer, saxophonist, flutist and actor, has performed throughout ...
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Recent Listening: Marcus Strickland
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Marcus Strickland, Triumph of the Heavy (SMK). In the liner notes, saxophonist Strickland writes, “Playing for a live audience heightens the adrenaline; you don't have the luxury of correcting mistakes. It puts you on a high wire." The second of the album's two CDs, a club recording, captures his trio's risk-taking and underlines the influence of an audience that truly listens. Strickland, his twin brother E.J. on drums and Ben Williams on bass hold the crowd's attention and seem to ...
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Marcus Strickland - Triumph of the Heavy, Volumes 1 and 2 (2011)
Source:
Something Else!
The story continues. Yesterday saxophonist Marcus Strickland's new, double-disc record Triumph Of The Heavy, Volumes 1 & 2 went on sale, and the narrative of this record begins where the story of his prior one, Idiosyncrasies (2009), left off. On that CD, Strickland dives head first into the tricky balancing act of leading a sax trio, with bassist Ben Williams and drummer E.J. Strickland, his twin brother. He made it even more challenging by not falling back on tried-and-true standards, ...
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Saxophonist/Composer Marcus Strickland Celebrates Triumph of the Heavy Volume 1 & 2 at Le Poisson Rouge
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Thursday, September 29, 2011 @ Le Poisson Rouge: Saxophonist/Composer Marcus Strickland's CD Release Party For Triumph of the Heavy Volume 1 & 2 Presented by Autumn Suite and produced by Revive Da Live Featuring: Marcus Strickland (saxophones/compositions), David Bryant (piano), Ben Williams (bass) + E.J. Strickland (drums) Showtime is 6:30 PM, TKTS are $10 ($12 day of show), Tel 212 505 FISH, Le Poisson Rouge is located at 158 Bleecker Street, NYC Marcus Strickland Also Appearing at: The Northampton Jazz ...
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Recent Listening: Martin, Strickland, Felten
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Brand New: In Brief
Joe Martin, Not By Chance (Anzic). Martin is a versatile and rounded bassist who has collaborated with a wide range of musicians at the heart of the 30-something generation of jazz players in New York. Here, he enlists two fellow members of that generation's elite, pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Potter. The drummer, several years younger, is Marcus Gilmore, an accompanist who listens, reacts and adjusts. All of the tunes but Jaco Pastorius's ...
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Win a Meet-and-Greet with Marcus and E.J. Strickland!
Source:
Michael Ricci
Want to meet Marcus and E.J. Strickland and see some great music? For every $5 you donate to help The Jazz Session host Jason Crane fight cancer, you’ll receive a raffle ticket for a special drawing to win tickets the Strickland’s CD release party at Joe’s Pub in NYC on Friday, August 21. All donations must be made by 10 p.m. ET this Monday, August 17. The winner will get two tickets to the show, an autographed copy of the ...
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Jazz by the Riverside with E.J. Strickland
Source:
All About Jazz
As New York's JVC Jazz Festival, the major jazz festival, closes for the first time in 37 years, Riverside offers an alternative venue for jazz this June. Jazz by the Riverside is one way to enjoy jazz live and in person this summer. This Friday night series of concerts is not to be missed... All performances begin @ 7:30 p.m. Join us Friday Night, JUNE 26 at the Riverside Church for a night of jazz with E.J. Strickland. E.J. Strickland ...
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“fields of cumulative energy, clouds of feather-touch and heavy-handed syncopations, latent with power like an oncoming storm” (Thomas Conrad, Downbeat Magazine) “Far from a simple collection of tracks, In This Day is a unified and thoughtful work, the songs’ elegant trajectory creating a logical thematic progression…. Not purely a straight ahead drummer, Strickland distills a variety of styles to propel equally diverse compositional influences” (Ken Micallef, Downbeat Magazine)
Photos
Music
Obsession
From: UnleashedBy E.J. Strickland
Too Little, Too Late
From: AuteurBy E.J. Strickland
The Lights Are Always On
From: The Lights Are Always OnBy E.J. Strickland
Time Traveler
From: Time TravelerBy E.J. Strickland
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