E.J. Strickland

Drummer E.J. Strickland is currently a member of the long-lived quartet of Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane
b.1965
sax, tenor (along with Luis Perdomo Luis Perdomo
b.1971
piano and Drew Gress Drew Gress
b.1959
bass ), and his brother Marcus Strickland Marcus Strickland

saxophone '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) will soon be released in 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 Elvin Jones
1927 - 2004
drums , Philly Joe Jones Philly Joe Jones
1923 - 1985
drums , Roy Haynes Roy Haynes
b.1926
drums , Tony Williams Tony Williams
1945 - 1997
drums , Jeff "Tain" Watts Jeff "Tain" Watts
b.1960
drums , Brian Blade Brian Blade
b.1970
drums , and many, many others.

After meeting Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis Jon Faddis
b.1953
trumpet , and Bobby Watson Bobby Watson
b.1953
sax, alto 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 Abbey Lincoln
1930 - 2010
vocal , Christian McBride Christian McBride
b.1972
bass , Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock
b.1940
piano , Wessell Anderson Wessell Anderson
b.1964
saxophone , and Dianne Reeves Dianne Reeves
b.1956
vocal .

E.J. is also currently touring & performing with Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson
b.1955
vocal , George Colligan George Colligan
b.1969
keyboard quartet & trio, and the David Gilmore David Gilmore

guitar trio.