E.J. Strickland

Drummer E.J. Strickland was born in 1979, the identical twin of brother to saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:6de0V6wLyRKp3I2LDMrXCr">Marcus Strickland</a>. He is one of the most frequently recorded drummers of the 21st century, appearing on over 30 albums, including In His Day (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Strick+Muzik%22">Strick Muzik</a>), his long-awaited debut as a leader. He attended The New World School of the Arts (Miami) for high school, studying classical music as well as jazz, where he came under the influence of luminous jazz drummers like <a href="spotify:artist:4dUMhhUjQ2YcNTvab29hYF">Elvin Jones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4WhH68K75YKSAwHAqWFpi1">Philly Joe Jones</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1tGINpEJVUsQXssRC28ugo">Roy Haynes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1TW90GjShgkjySrxBxcwQe">Tony Williams</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0hZXvDnljkma4aThiBMQ6h">Jeff "Tain" Watts</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0nXwIc4NAbu2K881ealRDu">Brian Blade</a>, and others. In 1997, Strickland 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: <a href="spotify:artist:0umoeIflP3pWEefnX9lvx4">Joe Chambers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3CBMQWrDKDfioTV0i5THvv">Michael Carvin</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:44gLY8zUnF4xRzi4X0zl1n">Carl Allen</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1vTCrjGTHg84CihmLX5Hi7">Ralph Peterson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2v2TVDl1P2YDSy9jXntWFt">Lewis Nash</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7KLg0R9RSUabK2CG2MTbBJ">Jimmy Cobb</a>. His first recordings were on brother <a href="spotify:artist:6de0V6wLyRKp3I2LDMrXCr">Marcus</a>' At Last and Brotherhood in the early 2000s. Downbeat Magazine described his drumming as emitting "fields of cumulative energy, clouds of feather-touch and heavy-handed syncopations, latent with power like an oncoming storm." Strickland has toured and performed with <a href="spotify:artist:7acdJJMSkYQly2X92K3u7u">Ravi Coltrane</a>, his brother <a href="spotify:artist:6de0V6wLyRKp3I2LDMrXCr">Marcus</a>' electric/acoustic quartets and trio, <a href="spotify:artist:6TZ5t4kclsmGWHqb3mGyha">Cassandra Wilson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6uBYC2SHo3OZBzXShYrEol">George Colligan</a> quartet and trio and the <a href="spotify:artist:0NHty26h16iO9pRNF5Pfmo">David Gilmore</a> Trio. He also leads his own bands, the E.J. Strickland Quintet and the E.J. Strickland Project. ~ Vincent Thomas, Rovi