E.J. Strickland "Transient Beings"
Bar LunÀtico486 Halsey Street, New York 11233
E.J. Strickland brings his Transient Beings electric group to Bar LunÀtico for two sets, with Strickland on drums, Sarah Elizabeth Charles on vocals and effects, Gregg Fine and Mike Moreno on guitars, and Rashaan Carter on electric bass. Founded in the spirit of the present moment, the project reflects on the limited time people share on Earth.
The New York-based group is rooted in soul music, drawing on funk, hip-hop, Afrobeat and fusion alongside jazz improvisation and rock-textured guitars. A Jazz Gallery feature called its blend “enticing,” citing atmospheric guitars, funky bass lines and Charles’s rich R&B vocals. Strickland has performed and recorded with Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright and Wynton Marsalis, among others; DownBeat’s Brian Zimmerman wrote that Strickland’s The Undying Spirit “positively glows.”
A basement club in Bedford-Stuyvesant, LunÀtico is a musician-owned space where live music starts at 9pm nightly, following dinner service. The stage is modest, with a single chair for the band, and the audience sits on wooden booths or the floor, close enough to feel the energy. The room is lit by dim bulbs, with walls lined with vintage posters and a few well-worn speakers. There's a bar with original cocktails, craft beer, and wine, and a dinner menu available from 6pm to 11pm. Shows are donation-based, with a $10 recommendation in cash. It's a place where people listen to music and talk afterward, in a familiar, unpolished setting.