Marcus Strickland Twi-Life – People Of The Sun (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:51 minutes | 912 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records
With his band Twi-Life, which includes trumpeter Keyon Harrold, bassist Kyle Miles, drummer Charles Haynes, and organist and pianist Mitch Henry, Marcus Strickland has always explored jazz from multiple angles. Produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, the saxophonist’s first album for BlueNote/Revive is influenced by a wide range of styles, drawing inspiration from the late hip-hop producer J Dilla, Fela’s afrobeat, Charles Mingus and even Bartók’s music! With People of the Sun, Strickland tells the musical and social tale of African diaspora from the present to the past with the aim of portraying his own identity: “I thought about where we come from and how that both clashes and goes hand in hand with what we’ve created here as Black Americans”. The result is a beautiful, dense, complex and welcoming album where Western African (the griot culture, afrobeat) and American (post-bop, funk, soul) influences collide and Bilal, Pharoahe Monch, Greg Tate, Jermaine Holmes, Weedie Braimah and Akie Bermiss cross over. These are rather unsurprising choices given that Strickland grew up in Miami surrounded by Haitian sounds, Afro-Cuban rhythms and southern rap, as well as Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane and P-Funk, his father’s favourite artists… This is a multifaceted piece of work zigzagging between Jazz, Soul, Funk and Rhythm’n’Blues in which Strickland’s sax gives us genuine melodic gems. – Max Dembo
Tracklist:
1. Lullaby (feat. Weedie Braimah)
2. Timing
3. People Of The Sun (feat. Mitch Henry)
4. On My Mind (feat. Bilal, Pharoahe Monch + Greg Tate)
5. Relentlessness
6. Marvelous (feat. Akie Bermiss)
7. Black Love
8. Build
9. Cloaked In Controversy
10. Aim High (Feat. Jermaine Holmes)
11. Spirt Of The Music
Personnel:
Marcus Strickland, saxophones
Yuki Hirano, keyboards
Mitch Henry, keyboards, organ
Kyle Miles, bass
Charles Haynes, drums
Jean Baylor, vocals
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