Enoch Jamal Strickland

Enoch Jamal “E.J.” Strickland is the world-class, world-traveled drummer, composer, educator, and artist you’ve heard on over 60 albums in the last 10-plus years. The Miami native grew up in a creative household, where his dad was a percussionist in the Ft. Lauderdale Orchestra; his twin brother Marcus played the saxophone.

E.J. graduated from the New School into New York’s gigging jazz scene, playing early on with Russell Malone and Ravi Coltrane.

Since then, Strickland has built a successful career as a composer, bandleader, educator, and sideman. He’s toured, performed, and recorded with some of the greatest names in contemporary music: Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright, Wynton Marsalis, George Colligan, David Gilmore, Vincent Herring, and Nnenna Freelon, to name a few. As an instructor, he’s taught at the prestigious Banff International Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music, at University of Manitoba, and at University of Connecticut.

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 says: “You’re not going to hear a traditional jazz drummer. You’re going to hear someone who’s drawing from many different styles, many different approaches. That’s what my true voice is. And I always try to remember that music is fun!”

In “Warriors For Peace”, E.J. has created an opus dedicated to all those who understand that to achieve peace, equality and justice in this world, one must break the silence and be proactive.

Armed with the power and complexity of his drumming, E.J. Strickland continues to clear a path for himself in the jazz world and beyond. A path that can only grow wider in the years to come!

Fun. Stirring. Uplifting. Intriguing. Kinetic: There are so many moods and meanings enmeshed into E.J. Strickland’s music, his myriad influences and ideas crossing and branching out in every direction.

These days, E.J. focuses on being a bandleader and a musician, creating great vehicles for his band to play on. He is also touring all over the world with Lakecia Benjamin, Ravi Coltrane, Manuel Valera, Brandee Younger, Reggie Washington, Dave Weiss, Christian Sands, …

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