The album begins with the Wayne Shorter classic “Oriental Folk Song” where the trio straight-up burns, seemingly influenced less by Wayne and more the mayhem-sounds of the venerable John Coltrane Quartet. The second tune, “Beast Within The Beauty”, showcases Strickland’s true gift to the world – his ability to pen challenging, compelling, dope music. His imaginative mind is running in full gear, moving him to play the head on soprano sax and the meat of the song in tenor. This may not be an earth-shattering revolution in song composition, but it’s rare these days. And the technique was essential to the song in helping Strickland paint his picture and tell his story. “Thump and Cadence” frolics and showcases some tremendous bass and piano playing by the best and most versatile young bassist, Vicente Archer, and the best and most versatile young pianist, Robert Glasper…not to mention incredible drumming – on this tune and throughout the album – by Strickland’s twin-brother E.J, who supplies a groove to even the more straight-ahead tunes. Perhaps the highlight of the album is “Brooklyn Street Fair”, a complex song with shifts and changes, showing the quartet’s superior musicianship, as they’re individually and collectively completely in sync with one another.
The Strickland Twins are joined by Lage Lund (guitar) and Brad Jones (electric bass) on the second disc, where the music is (once again) skillfully written and shows Strickland’s desire to stretch out creatively (something that seems to be sorely missing among the young jazz musicians). While Strick has all the creative control in the world, though, he went for a more a commercially accepted sound on this set – making it easier for the masses to dig it, but possibly alienating a few aficionados. It’s an interesting dilemma that today’s young musicians must navigate as they attempt to grow their audience while maintaining loyal supporters. There is cause for a reasonable amount of concern if this is the direction of the new age fusion band, since other artist’s and bands are adopting the same format and band make up. Still, there are positive moments on this disc, which are enough to give it multiple listens. Ultimately, Marcus Strickland is the future of jazz and this album brims with optimism.
