Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life: Nihil Novi review – shrewd grooves thanks to Meshell Ndegeocello

(Blue Note) Florida-born saxophonist Marcus Strickland’s Twi-Life projects go back to a 2006 collaboration with his like-minded associate Robert Glasper on piano, the starting point for his natural-sounding fusions of classic horn-driven hard bop with the grooves and vocal phrasing of modern R&B and hip-hop. Telling ingredients here include Keyon Harrold’s expressive, 1980s-Miles trumpet sound, producer Meshell Ndegeocello’s shrewd use of overdubs, synths and cross-idiom mas...

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