E. J. STRICKLAND

Jaleel Shaw – alto & soprano saxophone
Myron Walden – tenor sax & bass clarinet
Victor Gould – piano
Eric Wheeler – bass
E.J. Strickland – drums

Drummer E.J. Strickland leads an impressive quintet featuring saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Myron Walden, pianist Victor Gould, and bassist Eric Wheeler. Strickland is a world-class, world-traveled drummer who has toured, performed, and recorded with some of the greatest names in contemporary music including Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright, Wynton Marsalis, George Colligan, David Gilmore, Vincent Herring, and Nnenna Freelon. The Hartford Courant reports his drumming “has a rare balance of subtlety and power” while All About Jazz adds, “(he) belongs to a technically brilliant and forward-thinking group of young musicians.” And Downbeat says he emits “fields of cumulative energy, clouds of feather-touch and heavy-handed syncopations, latent with power like an oncoming storm.”