E.J. Strickland

E.J. Strickland is a New York drummer, composer, and bandleader, the identical twin brother of saxophonist Marcus Strickland. Born in 1979 in Miami, he grew up in a musical household and went on to study at the New School for Jazz in New York, where his teachers included Reggie Workman, Buster Williams, and Billy Harper. He moved quickly into the city's working scene, playing early on with Russell Malone and Ravi Coltrane, and built a deep sideman resume that includes Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright, and Nnenna Freelon. As a leader he records and tours with his own groups, releasing the quintet album In This Day in 2009 and the genre-crossing Transient Beings project in 2015.