Drummer E.J. Strickland's rise to the top took place alongside jazz legends such as Ravi Coltrane, Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis. Now a respected bandleader in his own right, Strickland is the gravitational point of a group of talented musicians, who surround him on stage in this high-flying concert.

Here the E.J. Strickland Quintet, his signature ensemble, take the stage of the Jazz en Tête festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France for a dazzling program rich in technical ease and cohesion, with: twin brother Marcus Strickland on tenor and soprano saxophones, Taber Gable on piano, Louis Godwin on alto saxophone, and Josh Ginsburg on double-bass.