Home » Jazz Articles » Multiple Reviews » Strickland Bros: In This Day & Idiosyncrasies

Strickland Bros: In This Day & Idiosyncrasies

By Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
August 2, 2009
View read count


E.J. Strickland In This Day Strick Muzik 2009	Marcus Strickland Idiosyncrasies Strick Muzik 2009

Listening to a new record often demands a cost-benefit analysis from the listener. Will working hard and long at understanding an entire album be rewarded in the end or will it lead to an unlocking of track after underwhelming track? The Strickland brothers produce music that, the more time spent with the songs, the greater the listeners' understanding of music that is complex and full and novel. It's an ideal economic outcome.

E.J. Strickland

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">E.J. Strickland's In This Day is a joyous album, startling in the way you don't have to work hard for—like finding money in an old winter coat. The first track, "Abandoned Discovery," is full of nervous energy mediated by the leader's disciplined drum playing and his assured brother Marcus on sax. "Find Myself" is an engaging treatment of soft, nuanced lines and throbbing, threatening beats. "Wrong Turn" begins gorgeously, with a pulsating groove and ends triumphantly. It's not difficult to like this album and to know its promise before popping the disc into the player:

Ravi Coltrane

saxophone, tenor
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Ravi Coltrane produced it.

More magic is front and center in

Marcus Strickland

clarinet, bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcus Strickland's album Idiosyncrasies. He articulates influences so clearly in his liner notes that listeners can get a glimpse into each track's genealogy. Drummer

Jeff Tain Watts

drums
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Tain Watts is the inspiration for "Cuspy's Delight;" Thoreau and Emerson for "Into the Wild"; "a very dear and intimate friend" for "Rebirth". His musical comrades and forbearers are also given credit, though the omnivorous range here is more surprising: Bjork, J Dilla and Quasimoto, Jose Gonzalez, Andre 3000. Strickland is obviously no genre purist, but neither is he an indiscriminate aggregator of sounds that work. He is an identifier of rhythmic excellence whether in the form of grooves or beats and his technical masterfulness allows him to bring everything in without the end result being clunky or gimmicky.

The album also stands as a reminder of how outside-the-box thinking of this kind can be intercepted. "The Child" is described as a piece using several instrumental samples, as well as one of a Ghanaian tribe field recording. Those segments were sadly cut out due to "licensing issues." "Middle Man," a bold, loopy, breathless number that rides the sax up and down and is murderously teased by the drums, is "about the entity I cut out by starting my own record label". Good for him and good for us that he did. Creative detours of the kind he's taking should be applauded and encouraged.

Tracks and Personnel

In This Day

Tracks: Abandoned Discovery; Asante(for the tribes of Ghana); Eternal(intro);Eternal; Pedrito's Prelude; New Beginnings; In Faith (In This Day); In This Day; Angular Realms; Find Myself; Wrong Turn; Illusions; Robin (intro); Robin Fly Away.

Personnel: E.J. Strickland: drums; Jaleel Shaw: alto sax; Marcus Strickland: soprano & tenor sax; Luis Perdomo: piano; Hans Glawischnig: bass.

Idiosyncrasies

Tracks: Cuspy's Delight; Rebirth; Scatterheart; The Child; Middle Man; She's Alive; Portrait of Tracy; Set Free; You've Got It Bad Girl; Time to Send Someone Away.

Personnel: Marcus Strickland: saxophone; Ben Williams: bass; E.J. Strickland: drums.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Charlie Parker: Bird in Time & Washi...
< Previous

Chico Hamilton: Now and Then
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.