Marcus Strickland (born February 24, 1979) is an American jazz soprano, alto, and tenor saxophonist. He was born in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
, and grew up in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. ''
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine's Critics' Poll named him 'Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone' in 2010 and 'Rising Star on Soprano Saxophone' in 2008. ''
JazzTimes
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of growth ...
'' magazine's Reader's Poll named him 'Best New Artist' in 2006. He placed third in the 2002
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.
His band and concept project, Twi-Life deals with the connection and intersection between jazz and Soul & Hip Hop as inspired by the J Dilla aesthetic of intricacy, “drunk drumming” and tonal nuance. Strickland becomes beat maker, composer as well as saxophonist on these projects.
The saxophonist has nine releases as a leader: ''People of the Sun'' (2018), ''Nihil Novi'' (2016) on Blue Note Records; ''Triumph of the Heavy, Vol 1 & 2'' (2011), ''Idiosyncrasies'' (2009), ''Open Reel Deck'' (2007), & ''Twi-Life'' (2006) on his own music label Strick Muzik (launched in 2006); ''Of Song'' (2009)on Criss Cross Records; ''Brotherhood'' (2002) & ''At Last'' (2001) on Fresh Sound Records.
In addition to his own Twi-Life, trio and quartet, Strickland has played with
Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...
,
Dave Douglas,
Jeff 'Tain' Watts
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
, and also had a five-year stint with the drummer
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...
. Strickland has been on two
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-nominated recordings (including ''Fountain of Youth'' - Roy Haynes & Keystone). He considers his father an early inspiration, as he had been a drummer in jazz and rhythm and blues but is now a lawyer. Marcus' twin brother E.J. Strickland is a drummer, and is a member of Marcus' quartet and leads his own quintet as well.
Select discography
As leader
* ''At Last'' (
Fresh Sound
Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label.
The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...
, 2001)
* ''Brotherhood'' (Fresh Sound, 2003)
* ''Twi-Life'' (Strick Muzik, 2005)
* ''Open Reel Deck'' (Strick Muzik, 2007)
* ''Of Song'' (
Criss Cross, 2009)
* ''Idiosyncrasies'' (Strick Muzik, 2009)
* ''Triumph of the Heavy, Vol. 1 & 2'' (Strick Muzik, 2011)
* ''Nihil Novi'' (Blue Note, 2016)
* ''People of the Sun'' (Blue Note, 2018)
As sideman
With
Bilal __NOTOC__
Bilal may refer to:
People
* Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name)
* Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad
* Bilal (American singer)
* Bilal (Lebanese singer)
Places
*Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...
* ''
VOYAGE-19'' (2020)
With
Dave Douglas
* ''
Keystone'' (
Greenleaf, 2005)
* ''Keystone: Live in Seden'' (Greenleaf, 2006)
* ''Moonshine'' (Greenleaf, 2007)
* ''Keystone: Live at the Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2008)
* ''Spark of Being'' (Greenleaf, 2010)
With
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...
* ''Fountain of Youth'' (Dreyfus, 2004)
With
Mike Moreno
Mike Moreno (born October 8, 1978) is a jazz guitarist and composer from Houston, Texas.
According to an NPR interview in 2008,Jackson, Josh, (Feb. 5, 2008).Mike Moreno: Jazz Guitar 'Between the Lines'. NPR. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2013. Moreno's ma ...
* ''Between the Lines'' (World Culture, 2007)
With
Lonnie Plaxico
Lonnie Plaxico (born September 4, 1960) is an American jazz double bassist.
Biography
Plaxico was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family, and started playing the bass at the age of twelve, turning professional at fourteen (playing both ...
* ''Melange'' (Blue Note, 2001)
* ''Lonnie Plaxico Live at the 5:01 Jazz Bar'' (Orchard, 2002)
* ''Live at the Zinc Bar'' (Plaxmusic, 2007)
With
E. J. Strickland
* ''In This Day'' (Strick Muzik, 2009)
With Bart Tarenskeen
* ''The Outer Rim'' (B-Art Records, 2013)
With
Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...
* ''
Christian McBride's New Jawn'' (Mack Avenue, 2018)
*''
Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
'' (Mack Avenue, 2023)
With
Jeff "Tain" Watts
Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others.
Biography
Watts got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny ...
* ''Detained'' (Half Note, 2004)
* ''Folk's Songs'' (Dark Key, 2007)
With
Chris "Daddy" Dave
* ''Chris Dave and the Drumhedz'' (Blue Note, 2018)
* ''Thine People'' (2021)
With
Ben Williams
* ''State of Art'' (Concord, 2011)
* ''Coming of Age'' (Concord, 2017)
* ''I Am A Man'' (
Rainbow Blonde, 2020)
With
José James
José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American vocalist who combines jazz and Hip hop music, hip hop.
Biography
José James attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, ''The Dreamer (Jo ...
* ''Merry Christmas from José James'' (
Rainbow Blonde, 2021)
With
Robert Glasper
Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...
* ''
Mood'' (Fresh Sound, 2004)
References
External links
Marcus Strickland's websiteStrick MuzikInterview from Alternate Takes, by Angelika BeenerInterview from Jazz Review"In Conversation with Marcus Strickland"by Jared Pauley
Jazz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strickland, Marcus
1979 births
Living people
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
Musicians from Miami
21st-century American saxophonists
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Criss Cross Jazz artists
Blue Note Records artists