"Triumph of the Heavy, Vol. 1& 2", Marcus Strickland's latest recording, is expected to be released on September 27, 2011. The first volume features Marcus' quartet (David Bryant on piano, Ben Williams on bass, and E.J. Strickland on drums) with a fresh approach to the piano's role in the group, and a whole new set of originals. The second volume is a live recording of his trio (with Ben Williams and E.J. Strickland) stretching and reinventing their familiar repertoire live in front of a studio audience at Firehouse 12 (New Haven, CT).

Volume 1: After two years of performing in the pianoless trio format Strickland has a refreshing return to the quartet on Volume 1 of "Triumph of the Heavy". The harmony, rhythm and space of his compositions are more specific, adding more shape to his quartet's ever-developing sound. Another tweak is the addition of the alto saxophone to his arsenal of horns, which usually are the soprano and tenor saxophones. "I went into this project knowing that I would have to be cognizant of fine details in order to make each volume sound distinct from each other. I already had a live trio recording in a small room for volume 2, so I decided to record the quartet in a huge high-ceiling studio with minimal isolation to get a very open sound for volume 1." - Marcus Strickland

Volume 2: It may be that the only thing more powerful than a strong triangle of musicians is one that has performed for an extended period of time, which is why Strickland decided to capture the trio live in front of an audience two years after recording "Idiosyncrasies" (Strickland's highly acclaimed 2009 release). "The idea to record the Trio's Firehouse 12 performance was an epiphany that happened in Spring of 2010. We were in the middle of a long string of trio performances and I noticed that the current chemistry of the band was longing to be documented. We were scheduled to play at Firehouse 12, which is a studio in New Haven, CT that holds a series of live studio audience performances, so I had no choice but to cease the opportunity to record that great era of my Trio."- Marcus Strickland