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https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lakecia-benjamin-mn0001491864/biography
Lakecia Benjamin
(b. October 20, 1982)
Artist Biography by Thom Jurek
Lakecia Benjamin is a New York-based saxophonist, arranger, composer and educator. Her music offers a unique meld of R&B, many forms of jazz, and funk. Her large, warm, resonant tone -that has often been compared to Johnny Griffin's -- lends itself to virtually any form of music she chooses to play. In addition to honing her chops early with Clark Terry and later Terri Lyne Carrington, she is also a noted accompanist for vocalists --among them Gregory Porter and Theo Crocker. Retox, her 2012 leader debut, offered a beat conscious set of soul and funk covers and originals produced by Ben Kane. She worked on Charenee Wade's Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson tribute, Offering in 2015. Benjamin played on "Right On Brotha, the closing track" from Robert Glasper's Everything's Beautiful in 2018, a collection of reimagined Miles Davis tracks. Her sophomore date, Rise Up for Ropeadope, contained a provocative, Prince-inspired series of original jazz-funk jams. In 2020, she released Pursuance: The Coltranes. The widely acclaimed set contained six tunes each by Alice and John Coltrane. Benjamin led a large cast of of jazz luminaries in her interpretations, including Reggie Workman, Regina Carter, Gary Bartz, Brandee Younger, and Jazzmeia Horn to mention scant few.
Benjamin was born in New York City and raised in Manhattan's predominantly Dominican Washington Heights neighborhood. She played recorder in grade school and junior high where she also began writing songs and lyrics. She won admission to the Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. It was there she began playing saxophone in earnest. She picked it up quickly and after graduating joined the renowned jazz program at New York's New School University.
At New School she studied with jazz veterans including Billy Harper, Workman, Buster Williams, and Gary Bartz. Bartz proved an important mentor. He introduced her to training technical exercise techniques while facilitating her interest in the music of jazz saxophonists including Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Jackie McLean. She also played in and performed with Clark Terry's Young Titans of Jazz, and some of Workman's ensembles. While struggling to make ends meet, she won paying gigs with as Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys, widening her approach. These influences made their presence known on Benjamin's Motema leader debut, Retox in 2010. The unusual set included Benjamin's Soul Squad band backing a number of singers and rappers in a host of originals and covers; some of which didn't feature her horn at all. She explained in interview that she didn't want to be heard as merely an instrumentalist and soloist, but as an arranger and bandleader too. She also won opportunities to play and tour with a wide array of artists including former Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali, the David Murray Big Band, vocalist Vanessa Rubin, and guitarist James Blood Ulmer. Her deep jazz roots and reputation for hard yet innovative work, made her a first call , she arranger and horn section leader, and landed touring gig with Anita Baker.
In 2015, she was part of the star-studded cast that played on vocalist. arranger Charenee Wade's Offering (The Music Of Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson). In addition to Benjamin, some of its other participants included Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, and Lonnie Plaxico. The following year she was invited by pianist Robert Glasper to participate in the sessions for his Miles Davis tribute, Everything's Beautiful; she appeared with Stevie Wonder and DJ Spinna on the set's closing track, "Right On Brotha."
In 2018, Benjamin issued her Ropeadope debut album, Rise Up leading a large ensemble in a savvy jazz-funk update for the 21st century including not only players but singers and rappers. In the aftermath, she played dates in and around New York, joined Porter's road band, worked with Carrington, and was a featured musician and arranger for comedy star Craig Robinson. In addition to performing, Benjamin also became an educator, teaching at Jazz at Lincoln Center and at Jazz House Kids.
Benjamin turned heads with her third album -- and second from Ropeadope -- by leaving R&B and funk by the wayside. May 2020's Pursuance: The Coltranes, is unlike any other tribute project. Its 13 tunes were equally divided between compositions by Alice and John, and offered sometimes radical reinterpretations. The outlier was "Going Home"; composed by Benjamin, its lineup included bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland, and string group Rootstock Republic. In addition to Benjamin's alto were the selectively featured horns of Bartz, Steve Wilson, Greg Osby, and Bruce Williams, harpist Brandee Younger, violinist Regina Carter, bassists Workman, Plaxico, and Me'Shell Ndegéocello, and vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jazzmeia Horn, Zakiyyah Modeste, and Dudley Perkins. The set was greeted with global acclaim by critics upon release, and subsequently charted at streaming.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/lakecia-benjamin
Lakecia Benjamin
Lakecia Benjamin is a Vandoren artist.
Charismatic and dynamic saxophonist and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin's electric stage presence and fiery sax work, has shared stages with Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray and many others, brings the soul and funk up to a fever pitch in a show that's guaranteed to keep crowds dancing day or night. Though her own music with her band Lakecia Benjamin and Soul Squad is immersed in the vintage sounds of James Brown, Maceo Parker, Sly and the Family Stone and the Meters as well as classic jazz, Benjamin's soaring, dance floor-friendly grooves take the classic vibe to a whole new level. The constant throughout it all is Benjamin's summery, sultry alto saxophone, adding something special on every cut - be it a smoldering late-night ambience, an erudite, forceful jazz intensity or the tight funk multi-horn harmony sections that pepper the proceedings throughout.
A streetwise New York City native born and raised in Washington Heights, Lakecia Benjamin has become one of the most highly sought-after players in soul and funk music. She first picked up the saxophone at Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, after which she joined the renowned jazz program at New York's New School University. By that time, she was already playing with renowned jazz figures like Clark Terry and Reggie Workman, which led to gigs and tours with a wide array of artists such as Rashied Ali, the David Murray Big Band, Vanessa Rubin and James “Blood” Ulmer. With her deep jazz roots, she was soon in demand as an arranger and horn section leader, landing stints with such acclaimed artists as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, the Roots, and Anita Baker.
Lakecia Benjamin: Pursuance: The Coltranes
by JEROME WILSONMay 22, 2020
AllAboutJazz
There are treatments here that hew close to the spiritual and mystical force of the original versions, and others that take some liberties and bring in more contemporary ideas. For example "Syeeda's Song Flute" has a lush layer of electric piano by David Bryant underpinning the wails of Benjamin's alto and Keyon Harrold's trumpet while Ron Carter and Darrell Green play combustible rhythms underneath. "Spiral" provides a twitchy salsa backdrop to a hard-charging alto exchange by Benjamin and Steve Wilson. The most radical revision comes on "Central Park West" which is turned into a combination of smooth jazz and hip hop beats with organ, harp and the scatted vocals of Jazzmeia Horn all adding to the potency of the lazy groove.
Besides all the Coltrane works, two old hymns, "Walk With Me" and "Going Home" are also performed as part of the homage to Alice Coltrane. Both are filled with rolling gospel power. Regina Carter's violin is prominent on the first and the second is brought to full orchestral majesty with the aid of Brandee Younger on harp, Marcus Strickland on bass clarinet and a full string section. As for Alice's actual compositions, "Prema" is played with a string-laden Middle Eastern rhythm and Gamiel Lyons vamping on flute besides the alto, while "Turiya and Ramakrishna" is done in a simple jazz combo format with Surya Botofasina's piano trembling underneath Benjamin's soulful blowing.
There are a lot of musicians and a lot of different musical approaches on this album but the powerful alto voice of Lakecia Benjamin holds it all together. She plays with appropriate majesty whether moaning over soulful beats or roaring in high energy duels with other alto players, like Gary Bartz on "Liberia" and both Greg Osby and Bruce Williams on "Affinity." This is an amazing and ambitious tribute to the long-lasting influence of John and Alice Coltrane.
Track Listing
Liberia; Prema; Central Park West; Walk With Me; Going Home; Syreeta's Song Flute; Spiral; Om Shanti; Alabama; Acknowledgement; Turiya and Ramakrishna; Affinity.
Personnel
Lakecia Benjamin: saxophone, alto.
Additional Instrumentation
Gary Bartz: alto sax (#1); Lonnie Plaxico: bass (#1-5, 9); Reggie Workman: bass (#2,4,9,13); Chris Rob: piano, Rhodes, organ (#1, 3, 8); Darrell Green: drums (#1,5,6,8-13); Gamiel Lyons: flute (#2); Sharp Radway: drums (#1, 3- 5, 7, 9,10, 13); Surya Botofasnia: piano (#2, 12); Juliette Jones: viola (#2,5); Jarvis Benson: viola (#2,5); Malcolm Parson: cello (#2,5); Brandee Younger: harp (#2,5); Jazzmiea Horn: vocals (#3); Joe Blaxx: drums, backing vocals (#3,4,8); Regina Carter: violin (#4); Marcus Strickland: bass clarinet (#5); Rootstock Republic: strings (#5); Kenyon Harrold: trumpet (#6); David Bryant: Rhodes (#6); Ron Carter; bass (#6); Steve Wilson: alto sax (#7); John Benitez: bass (#7); Marcus Gilmour: drums (#7); Georgia Anne Muldrow: vocals (#8); Meshell Ndegeocello: bass (#8); Ricardo Ramos: guitar (#8); Dudley Perkins: background vocals (#8); Zakiyyah Modeste: background vocals (#8); Bertha Hope: piano (#8); Dee Dee Bridgewater: vocals (#10); Abiodun Oyewole: spoken word (#10); Jonathan Michel: bass (#10,11); Bendji Allonce: percussion (#10, 12); Marc Cary: piano (#11); Greg Osby: alto sax (#13); Bruce Williams: alto sax (#13).
https://lydialiebman.com/index.php/for-your-consideration-lakecia-benjamin-pursuance-the-coltranes/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakecia_Benjamin
Lakecia Benjamin
https://downbeat.com/news/detail/lakecia-benjamin-spiritual-quest
Lakecia Benjamin Pursues a Spiritual Quest
Lakecia Benjamin’s latest album features compositions by Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane. (Photo: Elizabeth Leitzell)
When saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin finished the fourth song of her set, “Pursuance,” at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan on Jan. 11, a techie gave her a time warning. The amped-up crowd expressed dismay. “Don’t tempt me,” she quipped into the mic. “Any woman who made a Coltrane album will play all night.” The notion seemed credible. That evening, the seemingly indefatigable Benjamin played with ferocious joy, keeping time in her silver high-tops, chatting up the audience, even throwing her shiny jacket on the stage in mock surrender during a particularly blistering tenor saxophone solo by guest artist Marcus Strickland. In all aspects of her craft, the young alto player seemed to be testing established boundaries as much as she was lionizing the artistry of her musical forebears.
The performance, part of Winter JazzFest, was something of a preview for Benjamin’s latest undertaking, the self-produced Pursuance: The Coltranes (Ropeadope), out March 27. Several of the prominent players from the album joined Benjamin on the LPR stage: In addition to Strickland, they included bassist Reggie Workman, saxophonist Greg Osby and violinist Regina Carter. These talents represent only a smattering of the musicians who contributed to the recording. But with more than 40 artists on the new release, Benjamin would have been hard pressed to fit its entire personnel on stage, even if all the musicians had been available.
“One problem I’ve always had in life is dreaming really big,” Benjamin said during an interview at a Lincoln Center café the day before the LPR show. Off stage, with her gleaming horn tucked away in its case, Benjamin revealed a different side of her musical persona: the conscientious student of jazz history, smitten with the innovators who first charted the artistic path that she now treads, albeit in silver high-tops.
Benjamin doesn’t exaggerate when she talks about dreaming big. To date she’s released two albums under her own name, both with casts of more than 20 musicians: Retox (Motéma) in 2012 and Rise Up (Ropeadope) in 2018. With those—devoted as much to funk and soul as jazz—Benjamin began to develop a feel for bandleading, a skill that separates forward-looking jazz innovators from the merely talented.
“In every [past] generation, you had to be a bandleader, somebody who decided to take the steps to change things,” she said. “If you’re playing with people, it feels great, but bandleaders have a way harder job.”
Benjamin likely came to this realization during her years of experience as a side player to a host of in-demand pop, soul, funk and jazz acts—Gregory Porter, David Murray, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray, Missy Elliot, Talib Kweli and Anita Baker among them. These gigs started pouring in soon after Benjamin graduated from the jazz program at The New School in her hometown of New York.
Pursuance is Benjamin’s most ambitious project so far, not only for its eye-popping lineup, but for the magnitude of its subject matter: the compositions of Alice Coltrane (1937–2007) and John Coltrane (1926–’67). The meaningful twist here is the equal weight that Benjamin gives to Alice’s work, intentionally dividing the album’s 13 tracks about equally between the two musicians.
For Benjamin, this balanced approach is only natural: Growing up, she was transfixed by Alice’s otherworldly compositions before she even knew that John existed.
“A friend of mine had turned me on to Alice. She was friends with [Alice’s] family,” Benjamin recalled. “We would play her music all the time, and it really inspired me to start writing and creating. Then, out of the blue, I opened the booklet [to one of Alice’s CDs] and I saw the name John Coltrane. I asked, ‘Who’s John Coltrane? Does Alice have a brother?’”
Intrigued, Benjamin dug into John Coltrane’s discography, starting with his earliest work, through to his last. “By the end, I had a full picture of him,” she said. “I’m glad I came at it that way, versus somebody playing ‘Giant Steps’ for me, which maybe I wouldn’t have understood.”
Workman—a New School faculty member who has known Benjamin since her days as a student there—is the rare living musician who has worked with both of the Coltranes, first in John’s 1960s quartet and then on Alice’s 1978 concert album, Transfiguration. “I thought he could give me some insight since he played with both of them,” Benjamin said about the bassist, who contributed to her latest work.
Around the time Benjamin got in touch with Workman, the National Endowment of the Arts announced that he would be a recipient of a 2020 Jazz Masters Fellowship. This development set Benjamin to pondering the role that the Coltrane-era musicians had played in her own growth as an artist.
“I was glad that Reggie got some credit, not just the NEA Award, but also tenure at The New School,” Benjamin said. “And I was thinking that people of his generation don’t get enough props, especially from my generation. We say that we honor these guys, but we don’t make a public statement about it in our work.
“So, I thought, ‘There are a few guys alive who played with the Coltranes. Maybe [the album] would be a good way for us to pay tribute to all the work they’ve done. To let them know that it’s meant a lot to my generation.’”
Besides Workman, Benjamin had her eye on bassist Ron Carter, who’d played on Alice Coltrane’s third album, Ptah, The El Daoud, and saxophonist Gary Bartz, who, like Carter, had worked closely with McCoy Tyner, a longtime pianist with the John Coltrane Quartet. She wasn’t sure either would agree to record with her, but she reached out anyway.
Carter and Bartz agreed, with Workman signing on as co-producer.
“Then the project started spiraling,” Benjamin said. She started thinking about all of the other great musicians whose work had influenced her. Didn’t they deserve recognition, too? With this question in mind, she thought to invite some of her mentors, like saxophonist Steve Wilson and singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, and fellow rising stars, like trumpeter Keyon Harrold and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Then she started making phone calls to see who would be available for two all-day recording sessions.
The two marathon recording sessions were “like a reunion,” recalled harpist Brandee Younger. “Everyone was there, and it was really special.” Long a devotee of Alice Coltrane, who pioneered the jazz harp, Younger first met Benjamin about 11 years ago, around the time they both worked for drummer Rashied Ali (1933–2009), another musician who played with both of the Coltranes.
“Lakecia was absolutely thoughtful in her instrumentation and the selection of the players,” Younger said. But what stuck out the most, she added, was that “Lakecia always brings an element of soul to whatever she’s playing. When we recorded ‘Going Home,’ it was a beautiful, spiritual moment in the studio because of the soul she brought to it.”
Alice released the original “Going Home” on her 1973 album, Lord Of Lords (which was reissued in 2018 by the Superior Viaduct label). By this stage in her music career, Alice had begun experimenting with soothing, ethereal orchestrations, writing them herself, hinting at her growing interest in devotional music. In 1976, she established the Vedantic Center in California, which later relocated to a site near Malibu and was renamed the Sai Anantam Ashram. (The site later was destroyed in the 2018 Woolsey Fire.)
Alice’s final studio album, Translinear Light, came in 2004 and featured contributions from her sons Ravi and Oran, both saxophonists. In Benjamin’s arrangement of the traditional gospel blues “Walk With Me,” more than a step removed from the Translinear version, violinist Carter’s free sections act as bookends for the bandleader’s solo work, the mournful stirring of the strings contrasting with jubilant saxophone tones.
Alice didn’t release any new music after this album, though several archival recordings would surface after her death. In 2017, the Luaka Bop label released the compilation World Spiritual Classics I: The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda. Among its tracks is “Om Shanti”—a call for peace—originally released on cassette for the ashram’s followers. Benjamin’s take on the composition, a mash-up of spoken word, sung chants and soaring saxophone, featuring vocals from Georgia Anne Muldrow and bass from Meshell Ndegecello, retains all of Alice’s fervor, even as it speaks of modern pain.
Benjamin’s use of spoken word—just one of her stylistic allusions to hip-hop—on tunes like “Om Shanti” highlights both her comfort and her expertise with idioms outside of jazz. For instance, on “Acknowledgement,” from John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Benjamin opens with a poetic riff by Abiodun Oyewole, founder of the iconoclastic spoken-word group The Last Poets: “John Coltrane was a vessel/ Taking us to the house of God/ He spoke to God in the language God knew/ In the language of sound.” With this intro she uses sound in a way that Coltrane didn’t—but there’s nothing amiss here. Imitation is not her way of paying respect.
According to Benjamin, the decision to incorporate spoken word was an essential artistic choice. “Words can press through sometimes when the music can’t,” she observed.
Lakecia Benjamin’s latest album features compositions by Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane. (Photo: Elizabeth Leitzell)
However, aside from the sung prayers and spoken-word sections, the album doesn’t contain any text.
This was not Benjamin’s first idea, which was to include original lyrics by powerhouse vocalist Bridgewater on “Acknowledgement.” She and Benjamin even recorded the track with lyrics, before doubling back to re-record it with a vocalese segment.
“We found out that the estate doesn’t allow any lyrics to Coltrane’s music at all,” explained Bridgewater in a phone conversation from her home in New Orleans.
But no harm: Bridgewater’s skilled improvisation on the tune only magnified its timeless musicality. And, luckily, Benjamin has some of the best vocal improvisers around on her first-call list. Jazzmeia Horn scatted effortlessly on John Coltrane’s “Central Park West” for the album, and Charenée Wade stepped up to do the same at the LPR concert.
As Benjamin learned, toeing the line between creative interpretation and copyright violation is just one of the risks that performing artists face in their efforts to honor the masters of their craft. Another is the threat of comparison with those same masters. Workman issued a word of caution, however, about any such comparisons between Benjamin and the Coltranes.
“This music is in her blood, and [through the Coltrane material] she’s finding a way to tell a similar story. John Coltrane would be upset if we did his work the same way that he did 65 years ago,” Workman remarked, going on to point out Benjamin’s smarts when it comes to contemporary music. “Her ears are open, and her roots are firmly planted. This album is her way of saying where her roots are. Firmly planted and waiting to grow.”
Like Workman, Bridgewater also sees signs of Benjamin’s tremendous possibilities, not just for artistic growth, but for success in the music industry. “The word for Lakecia is ‘fierce.’ She’s really, really powerful as a player,” she said. “I think the sky’s the limit for her.”
For the time being, though, whatever successes might lie ahead, Benjamin finds in the work of the Coltranes a template for how she’d like her life to be, both artistically and personally. “I was looking to get closer not just to their music, but to what they meant when they talked about a spiritual life,” she said. “I strive to be in a place where I can be whole within myself, where every note I play is touching somebody on a deeper level. So, the album is called Pursuance because I’m still striving to get to that place. Aesthetically, I’m trying to get to heaven every time I play.”
After she launches Pursuance at Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 11–12, Benjamin will spend some of the spring touring Europe and the States. But when asked about her upcoming plans, she mentions only one: a meeting with bebop vocal legend Sheila Jordan, 91.
“She knew Charlie Parker,” Benjamin said, excitedly. She’s looking forward to hearing all about him from someone who was there. DB
https://www.baystatebanner.com/2020/10/29/lakecia-benjamin-the-future-of-jazz-is-now/
Lakecia Benjamin: The future of jazz is now
Lakecia Benjamin is a saxophonist impossible to categorize. Though best known for her work in jazz, she has performed with hip-hop musicians such as DJ Premier and Missy Elliott as well as soul stars Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. A Manhattanite out of Washington Heights, Benjamin’s latest CD, released on March 27 of this year, is a tribute to Alice and John Coltrane, the most remarkable married couple in the history of jazz. While Benjamin’s 2020 touring plans were knocked out by the pandemic, she is keeping busy and planning ahead. Resiliency is a hallmark of her music and serves to inspire those listening in. The Banner caught up with her from her place in New Rochelle, New York.
Your latest CD is called “Pursuance: The Coltranes.” You’ve spoken about pursuance as “a striving to get to that place of spirituality epitomized by the work of the Coltranes — trying to get to heaven every time I play.” Can you say a little bit about how that striving takes place in your work?
I think that there are a couple of ways to look at this. Both Coltranes practiced 12 to 15 hours a day. So taking that as a start: Practice as much as you need so that you can play what’s in your head. Then, too, find yourself: You can only play who you are. If you’re only technically proficient, you’re leaving out the exploration and the feeling of who you are as a person. You can’t play anything you haven’t lived.
Bassist Reggie Workman helped produce the CD. At age 83, having worked with the Coltranes, he’s more or less heard everything. How lucky to have him as a mentor. Did he try to steer you in any directions?
He did not. My major goal in recruiting him for the record was because he knew the Coltranes as individuals. He would have dinner with John Coltrane, he knew him as a person. So he could ask him questions like, “Why did you write ‘A Love Supreme?’” I think Reggie enjoyed the concept of what I was doing, too — he appreciated that Alice’s music was included. My goal was to honor elders on this project.
You grew up in Washington Heights and speak of the music of the Dominican Republic as an early influence, which adds to the unpredictability, the uncharacterized nature of your music. Then as a teen, turning to Duke Ellington. What are you listening to these days for inspiration?
These days I’m not listening to music for inspiration, what with being locked down due to the pandemic. I am listening to music to lift myself up. Like, “I Don’t Want Nobody,” by Eddie Harris. And James Blake and Sam Rivers. Then, too, “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady,” an album by Charles Mingus.
There are so many references to you in media as “streetwise.” What’s that even mean?
Streetwise. Yes, I see that I’ve been described that way. I have no idea why people say that!
What has been your experience as a woman in jazz? I’ve spoken to Terri Lyne Carrington and Dee Dee Bridgewater about that. Any thoughts?
Whatever they told you, I feel the same way! One thing I would say to young women starting out in a career in music: You have got to get a mentor who’s a woman. Now. Right away. It’s crucial. There are women who miss out on going to gigs because they happen between midnight and 4 a.m. and they don’t want to go alone. You can become isolated. A mentor can go with you.
A lot of articles appeared this summer on social activism and jazz. What are your observations both in terms of your goals and looking at the work of other musicians?
You can’t separate music from the culture. The music is the culture. Yes, there’s a lot of talk about social activism and jazz, but the music is a reflection of the culture that the musician is experiencing.
I saw that you participated in a virtual seminar at UMass Amherst on July 24 with bassist Avery Sharpe and pianist Christian Sands. Any future Boston area plans?
It’s hard to say, with all that’s going on, but usually I have something happening at Berklee or with Terri Lyne Carrington or at Scullers Jazz Club. Typically, too, I perform the last two weeks of August on the Vineyard. These weren’t options this year. It wasn’t safe. And I enjoy Cape Cod, it’s so pleasant.
What’s next for you in 2021?
I got some positive news from a friend in China who sent me photos recently of performing in a jam-packed club there. That’s a hopeful sign. I’m optimistic: My fall tour of 2020 was moved to Spring 2021. I’m hoping it will be possible to attend summer festivals in Spain and Germany. There will be virtual shows in North Carolina, Berlin and New York City. The only trouble is that all of my 2020 work is moved to 2021, and by then I’ll be working on new music.
On 'Pursuance' and the Coltranes
(Feature Interview)
Lakecia Benjamin
On 'Pursuance' and the Coltranes
(Feature Interview)
Pursuance: The Coltranes is the latest project from the charismatic New York-based saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. For the record, Lakecia surrounded herself with a collection of jazz masters and jazz nobility, such as Ron Carter, Gary Bartz and Dee Bridgewater (to name a few), and united them under the mystical music of Alice and John Coltrane.
Titans within jazz, Alice and John Coltrane have had a seismic impact on the music world. The pair’s lure on Lakecia from a young age, who has played with figures like Stevie Wonder to Gregory Porter, is clear.
“A friend of mine had played me an Alice Coltrane record, a long time ago… I was immediately taken and drawn to it.”
This curiosity would lead Lakecia to a deep exploration to find out who this figure was. As Alice as her starting point (and discovering that John was her husband), Lakecia went on, almost fanatically, to find out more the saxophonist’s music.
“I got all the albums I could get and put them in chronological order. So, then I started listening to them one CD at a time, and I spent a week or two with one CD and then kept moving. By the time I got to the end, it’s kind of like, a crazy experience – experiencing ten years of Coltrane – from post-Bebop until his freer period. It became almost like obsessive, seeing someone grow that way. At the time… I wasn’t even aware of what “Bebop” is, or “Swing” is, the genres and the periods.”
“So luckily when I heard it, it was the sound the vibes and the vibrations are what caught me at first. If I listened to it five years ago, I’d be able to tell you whether it was minor or modal, but all I had then was how it made me feel inside. So, this was a key thing of getting me to dig deeper into my musical education you know? To find a name for what I was hearing.”
“It really made me appreciate their music more. It made me research who they were, where they lived, I had to go find out who the artists were because I wasn’t tied into like, ‘oh this was jazz’. I had no idea, I thought this is just music.”
Talking to Lakecia, you realise that her passion for and dedication to the Coltranes was the starting point for Pursuance. Yet, it goes so much deeper than that – the record is also her way of expressing her own appreciation for the wider jazz community, the art form itself, but also a yearning to draw others to it.
“I thought of the idea in June [2019]… and I went to talk to Reggie Workman. He’d just won an NEA award… He started talking to me about how happy he was about this award, and I thought to myself ‘Wow this guy is 83, and he’s just getting an award for being the legend that he is.'”
“As we’re losing so many jazz legends, I wanted to pay tribute to them whilst they’re here. My ultimate goal in the album was, of course, for people to check out who Alice and John Coltrane were, [to draw them to] read and listen to their music. But also, individually, listen to Ron Carter’s music, listen to Dee Dee Bridgewater’s music, listen to all these people, and bring them closer into the jazz family.”
Making such an expansive piece of work is difficult to, which unites generations and styles in such a way, is an incredibly difficult thing to do. But she assured me, that the unifying element begins with jazz as an art form.
“I think in terms of like the history of music, the history of jazz, the history of black music, jazz is the roots of things. The spirituals, the blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, they evolved from each other, but their roots are always in the spirituals, blues and jazz.”
Within moments of talking to Lakecia, her strength, determination and vision are blindingly clear.
“For the album, I didn’t have anybody to plan, organise and budget. I came up with the idea, and I didn’t tell anybody because; one, I was scared if I could get this together; and two, I didn’t want anyone to put it on the internet or blab that I was working on this. So, I didn’t enlist help from anybody on this, I just showed up and told people this was going to happen.”
Clearly, to be able to succeed in a project like this, you need to be resilient. It's unquestionable that Lakecia is.
“I guess I’ve always been a resilient person, someone who aims for the highest, and if you hit it in the middle, you’re still better off than if you’d aimed for the bottom. But I think what I learnt from that, is that as much as I’ve been adventurous and always trying to seek my dreams, I should always go a little higher. Because if I can achieve all of that, with no team or anything, I wonder, ‘what can I do next?’”
“Put your money on yourself. Always bet on yourself.”
This sense of self-assurance and poise helps to explain how the saxophonist was able to accrue a star-studded line-up for the album, one which spanned generations.
“It feels amazing. During the process, there are so many different emotions you know? I started beginning from having no one. I just had a blackboard in my house and a list of people I was going to contact.”
“The best part of it, was when we got to the studio… that is full of all these people… and they’re hanging out because they’re seeing their friends and talking about these times when in 1965 they were doing this, and the 1970s they were doing this… It became this huge party.”
“I remember at one point in the session, just sitting back and watching everybody talk and laughing… and I just thought ‘Wow… Here’s Reggie Workman, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz. This is so amazing to just see them and they’re so excited and honoured to be playing with each other’. It was really special to me.”
What is also amazing to consider and appreciate with this project, is not just the calibre of the musicians Lakecia was able to congregate, but also the relationship which these musicians had with one another.
“All of the alto players on the CD, except for Greg Osby, have been my saxophone teachers. It was important to me, to show that even within the CD itself, there are generations of musicians which have developed from each other.”
“Regina Carter was telling about her experiences with Ron Carter helping her out and bringing her into the music. Each generation, no matter which age group you were in, someone had mentored you that was on the project…"
"They were all connected to Coltrane, but also connected to each other.”
Focusing on the Coltranes, it is impossible to avoid thinking about the spirituality which lay at the core of their music and what they stood for. Legendary saxophonist Gary Bartz, who epitomises the spiritual jazz movement and is featured on the record, recently told Lakecia that he’s taking the COVID-19 isolation period in his stride, claiming “I’m in heaven”...
“The great musicians, this is where they are. Their brains aren’t on Earth. They’re just so absorbed with the music. You can use this time to focus on your playing, so when you play with other people, you are at a different level.”
“[Gary] mentioned to me that he saw John Coltrane do a gig, and the cops came and shut the gig down at 4am, he said that John Coltrane and Elvin Jones went to the basement, to finish the rest of the song. Because it’s not about the gig or the money, but it’s because the song was not finished – so that’s where he is coming from”
Undoubtedly, this sense of spirituality is something which is wholly important for Lakecia, particularly with the COVID-19 outbreak.
“How the Coltranes lived their lives, is something I aspire to be… I’ve always felt that if you’re playing jazz, or whatever the music,"
"it’s to heal people and bring some kind of joy or comfort going through something.”
“I feel like right now it’s going on because the world’s slowly been entering a crisis. Now, it’s kind of like crashed.”
“I had a choice to pull the album...I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t the music supposed to be for a crisis?’ It’s weird to go backwards. So, I decided to let it go and see what happened…There’s nowhere you can go to avoid where humanity is right now. Hopefully, it brings us out stronger, but it’s definitely shown some weaknesses in every place’s particular system.”
Tolling over the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak which continues to adversely affect the creative industries, Lakecia pensively reflected on the way which the music community and fans have rallied round to support one another.
“As the months go by, and people’s incomes are getting lower and lower. Before, I used to be really against services like Spotify or Youtube… But it’s important to share artists’ work, because really what makes artists known is people talking about them and sharing their pages, videos and telling a friend about them. You don’t really get famous because someone puts you in JazzTimes. People find out because people are talking about it. So, I think that’s a way of helping. Share the music, share the message, spread the word."
“After this, we’ll all be on the same page in appreciating people…Once we all get on the same page and get passed this, I think the arts will really flourish because that’s a staple which has been implemented.”
“I really feel like the music community, is supporting each other… Everyone is sticking together to really make sure that when we come back, everyone in the whole community is together.”
Lakecia Benjamin's Pursuance: The Coltranes is out now via Ropeadope Records.
You can buy Pursuance: The Coltranes here, and stream it on your preferred streaming service here.
You can keep up-to-date with Lakecia here:
- Website
Featured guests on Pursuance include: Gary Bartz, Jazzemia Horn, Regina Carter, Brandee Younger, Marcus Strickland, Ron Carter, Keyon Harrold, Steve Wilson, Marcus Gilmore, Georgie Anne Muldrow, Meshell Ndegecello, Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Last Poets, Marc Cary, Greg Osby and Reggie Workman.
https://www.wbur.org/npr/860223572/play-it-forward-lakecia-benjamin-sings-through-her-saxophone
Play It Forward:
Lakecia Sings Through Her Saxophone
Last time on Play It Forward, our musical chain of gratitude, R&B singer and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow raved about the saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. They share a few things in common: Both studied together at The New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, both tap a similar spiritual vein in their music and as Muldrow sees it, both are "sangin' " even if it's through different mediums. Benjamin extends the connection in this episode, sharing a song they recorded together off her new album Pursuance: The Coltranes. Ari Shapiro talked to her at length about the record, which reinterprets the work of John and Alice Coltrane with the help of a staggering ensemble cast, and about an artist she is grateful for: James Blake. Listen in the audio player above and read on for highlights from the interview.
Interview Highlights
On her new album Pursuance: The Coltranes
The whole project was a long-coming thing, but long story short, I really have always admired John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. I always felt they were the perfect dynamic of what a complete musician should be in terms of technically proficient, spiritually proficient, good human beings out here trying to heal and help people. For me, they were the highest level, especially in jazz, that you could achieve as a musician so I wanted to do a project that could somehow pay honor to what they've done for the whole music and art form and just also remember the legends that are still living now and pay homage to them before they pass on.
When I say long time coming, I mean I've always had that affinity for them two. But in terms of the logistics, I got the idea to start reaching out some of my peers and also people that I didn't know that were legends that I possibly wanted to work with. I wasn't sure if they'd work with me or not. Bottom line is no one really knew who I was, so I was just calling them cold turkey, finding their numbers on the Internet. I did that top of July [2019].
Meshell Ndegeocello I didn't know at all. She's on the track with Georgia [Anne Muldrow], "Om Shanti." So Meshell's playing bass. That person actually speaking, that's a recording of Alice Coltrane talking. We wanted to have Alice Coltrane on the track with us in some way.
Looking back at those busy recording sessions amid the pandemic
I think in the music world at least, things are very grim. None of us know what our future is: Are we gonna play again, are we gonna congregate again? Some people are sad about it, some people [have] a little bit of hopelessness. So for me, I can kind of hold onto the fact that my last major recording and memory was a whole dream project that I did.
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On her choice for Play It Forward: James Blake
The first time I heard James Blake, I felt like somebody jumped inside of my body and hugged my soul, and I just knew it was gonna be OK after that.
He has such a haunting quality. It's rare that you find an artist that their musicianship and caliber are so high on so many different instruments: producing, singing, piano playing. And he's not afraid to embrace the darkness, either. I feel like sometimes when things go mainstream, we feel like they have to be really exciting and poppy and sugarcoated, and he's not afraid to bare his soul to the world and let you see that there's beauty on the other side as well.
On seeing James Blake live
I've only actually seen him one time in person. I was in Tennessee playing at Bonnaroo, and someone came and ran to me and said, "James Blake is playing!" I was on stage packing up. I just left my sax there and ran over to where he was. I'll never forget that show. Because I was an artist performing there, I had the VIP pass. I could be backstage, so I kinda ran past everybody. It was probably like 10,000 people [in the] crowd. It was so thick. This festival was out in the woods, like rural, mud. And I kinda ran past everybody, showed my badge, jumped the gate and I went straight to the stage right in front of him. He had a drummer and a guitar player and him, and he was just kind of sitting there playing little things on the keys. It was not that much sound going, like a sample was happening. And next thing you know he dropped the beat, and I just fell to my knees, I was like "Yes! I've made it!" I stayed there in that place for probably the whole hour and a half or whatever it was.
Parting words for Blake
James Blake, thank you so much for all you do for the community, for music. Thank you for being born, brother. Thank you for embracing the darkness, thank you for embracing the light and thank you for inspiring me and so many other people to do what we do. Keep striving to be the best self you can be.
9(MDAyNzUwMDI2MDEyNTA3MTU5NzcyNTQyNA004))
Transcript
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
It's time for Play It Forward, our musical chain of gratitude where we talk to artists about their music and the musicians they're thankful for. Last time, we spoke with Georgia Anne Muldrow. As a singer and producer, she's made more than a dozen albums of jazz, blues and R&B music, and she told me that she's grateful for Lakecia Benjamin, a saxophone player from New York. I asked Muldrow what she'd like to say to Benjamin.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW: Lakecia Benjamin, I want to thank you for your courageous attitude, for not giving up and rising above and into all that you must be to find your peace. And I just wanted to say just keep on blooming and growing into your angel self because you're wonderful, and this whole world going to know exactly what it is with you and this music.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAKECIA BENJAMIN'S "PREMA")
SHAPIRO: And Lakecia Benjamin joins us now from New York City.
Welcome to Play It Forward.
LAKECIA BENJAMIN: Hi. Thanks.
SHAPIRO: So first, I'd just love to hear your response to what Georgia Anne Muldrow just said.
BENJAMIN: I mean, I think that was the most moving statement I've ever heard about me or my music, so I guess I'm just honored and so excited and glad that I've touched another soul that way.
SHAPIRO: Let's talk about your latest album. It's called "Pursuance: The Coltranes," and it is a celebration of John and Alice Coltrane. A bunch of your jazz heroes play on this album. Can you just tell us about the project?
BENJAMIN: Well, the whole project was a long-coming thing, but I - long story short, I really have always, always admired John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. I always felt they were the perfect dynamic of what a complete musician should be in terms of technically proficient, spiritually proficient, good human beings out here trying to heal and help people. So I felt that for me, they were the highest level, especially in jazz, that you could achieve.
SHAPIRO: You say this project was a long time coming, but I understand you recorded it all in two days with, like, dozens of musicians all in the room together. Is that right?
BENJAMIN: Yeah. When I say long time coming, I mean I've always had that affinity for them two. But...
SHAPIRO: Yeah.
BENJAMIN: In terms of the - you know, the logistics, I got the idea to maybe start reaching out to some of my peers and also people that I didn't know that were legends that I possibly wanted to work with. I wasn't sure if they'd work with me or not, you know, because bottom line is no one really knew who I was. So I was just calling them kind of cold turkey.
SHAPIRO: Who was the biggest person you cold called?
BENJAMIN: Meshell Ndegeocello I didn't know at all.
SHAPIRO: Wow. And which track is she on?
BENJAMIN: She's on the track with Georgia. She's on "Om Shanti."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OM SHANTI")
MULDROW: (Singing in non-English language).
ALICE COLTRANE: Om shanti. I pray all of those present who seek the truth that is God - that they will not be held under the influence of (unintelligible), ignorance and misunderstanding and their desires (unintelligible) anger the righteous but that they will strive daily, seeking the truth that is God; that they will sincerely (unintelligible).
BENJAMIN: So Meshell's playing bass. That person actually speaking, that's a recording of Alice Coltrane talking.
SHAPIRO: Wow.
BENJAMIN: So we wanted to have Alice Coltrane on the track with us in some way.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAKECIA BENJAMIN SONG, "OM SHANTI")
SHAPIRO: Does thinking about those gatherings take on a different tone now when it's so hard for everyone to physically be together?
BENJAMIN: It really does because I think in the music world, at least, things are very grim in terms of - none of us knows what our future is. Are we going to play again? Are we going to congregate again? And it's - some people are sad about it. Some people are a little bit of hopelessness. So for me, I can kind of hold onto the fact that my last major recording in memory was a whole dream project that I did.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OM SHANTI")
MULDROW: (Singing in Indian).
SHAPIRO: Well, Lakecia Benjamin, it is your turn to move this train forward and tell us about somebody who you're thankful for, somebody whose music inspires you. Who would you like to tell us about?
BENJAMIN: I'd like to tell you about James Blake.
SHAPIRO: Oh, he's fantastic. Yes.
BENJAMIN: Phenomenal.
SHAPIRO: What does he do for you?
BENJAMIN: I think the first time I heard James Blake, I felt like someone jumped inside of my body and hugged my soul. And I just knew it was going to be OK after that.
SHAPIRO: That's beautiful. For people who aren't familiar with his music, is there a track of his we could play?
BENJAMIN: Yes. I think you should play "Retrograde."
SHAPIRO: All right. Let's listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RETROGRADE")
JAMES BLAKE: (Singing) You're on your own. In a world you've grown - few more years to go. Don't let the hurdle fall. So be the girl you loved. Be the girl you loved. I'll wait.
SHAPIRO: Tell us what you're feeling as you hear this.
BENJAMIN: I mean, he's had - he has such a haunting quality. It's rare that you find an artist that the musicianship and caliber are so high on so many different instruments - producing, production, singing, piano playing. It's just - and he's not afraid to embrace the darkness, either. I feel like sometimes we kind of - when things go mainstream, we feel like they have to be really exciting and poppy and sugar-coated. And he's not afraid to, like, bare his soul to the world and let you see that there's beauty on the other side as well.
SHAPIRO: Have you two ever met or spoken?
BENJAMIN: I have not met - I've only actually seen him one time in person. I was in Tennessee playing at Bonnaroo, and someone came and ran to me and said, James Blake is playing. And I was onstage, packing up. I just left my sax there and ran over to where he was.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'LL COME TOO")
BLAKE: (Singing) I'm going to say what I need if it's the last thing I do, I do, I do, I do. I'm in that kind of mood.
BENJAMIN: I mean, I'd never forget that show. I mean, because I was an artist performing there, I had, you know, the VIP passes. I could be backstage. So I kind of ran past everybody. It probably was, like - kind of want to say 10,000 people crowd. It was so thick. This festival was out in the woods - like, rural mud. And I kind of ran past everybody, showed my badge, jumped the gate. And I went straight to the stage right in front of him. They had a drummer and a guitar player and him, and he was just kind of sitting there, playing little things on the keys. It was not that much sound going. Like, a sample was happening. And next thing you know, he dropped the beat, and I just fell to my knees. I was like, yes.
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
BENJAMIN: I made it. I stayed there in that place probably for the whole hour and a half or whatever it was.
SHAPIRO: That's such a perfect music moment.
BENJAMIN: It was great.
SHAPIRO: Well, we're going to James Blake next. What would you like to say to him?
BENJAMIN: I guess, James Blake, thank you so much for all you do for the community, for music. Thank you for being born, brother. Thank you for embracing the darkness. Thank you for embracing the light. And thank you for inspiring me and so many other people to do what we do, and keep striving to be the best self you can be.
SHAPIRO: Lakecia Benjamin - her latest album is "Pursuance: The Coltranes."
It's been wonderful talking with you. Thank you.
BENJAMIN: Oh, you, too. Thank you so much.
SHAPIRO: And we'll talk with James Blake in the next episode of Play It Forward.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'LL COME TOO")
Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
Related:
https://www.dansr.com/vandoren/resources/thoughts-from-a-soul-and-funk-musician
Interview conducted by John R. Hylkema
How did you first become interested in these genres of music?
I actually started off playing Latin music, I was from a predominantly Dominican neighborhood. I grew up in the 90’s, so R&B, funk, and soul was playing on the radio nonstop. After Latin music I started playing jazz, but I always feel like I was engulfed in all different types of styles even though my neighborhood was playing a lot of Latin music and that’s how I was predominantly gigging. My parents listened to nothing but rap and hip hop. My aunt, who lived with us, listened to nothing but James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and that kind of thing. Everybody listened to stuff from “their era." I grew up with all the eras (chuckles).
The soul and funk came later on, I think it was after I was doing a lot of Latin stuff, I was doing a lot of jazz and I had experimented with a lot of free jazz and other stuff. It became clear to me that I liked all the styles of music, but I think that soul and funk music had a very special attraction. I was drawn to the fact that it’s kind of like, I don’t want to say that it’s party music, but it’s more like uplifting music. It takes more entertainment and more show style, so it drew me in a little bit more in being able to present it and being able to feel it along with how people respond to it.
Who are some major influences that caused you to pursue a music career?
Oh those are the basics! John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Maceo Parker. I was a big Monk fan too, as well as a Charlie Rouse fan. He was also kind of like a hip hop jazz artist, the way he plays is very in the pocket. They all had something different, like John Coltrane; of course, his technical facility and I was really drawn to his spirituality and how he was drawn to always growing on his instrument and practicing so much. I was actually good friends with Alice Coltrane too so I felt like it was bigger than the saxophone with him.
Could you tell us a little bit more about Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad?
How was it created?
I guess I just put it together. Before that, I had a group called… I don’t even know what we called each other anymore (chuckles). What changed me in going from all the way, straight ahead jazz, to more funk and soul music was that I write all my music on piano and I started writing all of these songs and they were somehow just “coming out” in this genre. So I was like, “I guess it’s going to be more of a soul and funk type of situation!” The thing I enjoy when I go to parties and dance is that everyone’s, kind of, doing the same dance steps together. It’s that collective energy that creates this big rush, so I thought, “What if I got a whole bunch of musicians that were like a soul army?” We’re on stage doing the same dances, the same rhythms, and having a party to match what’s going on out in the audience.
What is your goal for the group?
I’m trying to affect people in whatever way I can. Of course, I would rather it be positive, but I’m trying to do something that can alter your state. If I can play something for you that can uplift you and make you feel better, then that’s what I want to do. If you’re not having a good day or if you’re having a great day, whatever kind of day you’re having; if you can come to my show and know that you’re going to be inspired and leave motivated and feeling good, that’s what I’m trying to do. Honestly, I feel like that’s the point of music in general. Musicians are out here kind of like the healers, and besides crafting your art, you’re crafting it for a reason.
You’ve recently finished up a European tour, what was that like?
(As of 4/7/2017) We finished maybe four or five days ago, it was pretty awesome actually! How much better does it get? You’re traveling the world, doing what you love, you’re playing for different audiences and they’re listening to your original music and enjoying it. It’s like everything you’d want, in a little box! It’s crazy how different people from different cultures experience it. This tour was about two weeks and I think we played about nine shows. There was a show that we played in the Czech Republic, in this place called Plzen, and there was only maybe 300 people there, but it was amazing. Out of all the crowds I played for, this one I went out there with them, they danced with me and they sang along with me. From the moment I came out, they were completely ready to have the time of their lives. They had so many kids that played saxophone and were students there, they were really young and they had these toy saxophones and they were fingering along while I was playing! It’s pretty awesome to see a whole upcoming generation of people that are embracing a whole different culture and are so excited. I mean, these people were on 25,000 at all times!
What do you think of Europeans as listeners and members of the audience? Specifically, how they’re very involved in a concert and accepting of different genres of music.
I asked them once, “Why is it that are you guys able to do this?” Someone told me once that the way you’re raised over there, is that you don’t even think of it as different music. You don’t think of it as, “Okay, this is free jazz, this is funk.” You think of it as someone’s culture. So how can you understand each culture? So it’s like, wow that’s why they’re going in there (a show) and appreciating it. They don’t feel like they’re taking a chance on you they feel like they’re taking a chance on your “whole thing."
How can those aspiring to get into soul and funk music get started?
I think it’s the same as any other genre; master your instrument! Work on your composing skills, work on your people skills, and try to get as many allies as possible because there’s a difference between being a saxophone player and being a leader. There’s a whole different skill set in there so I would say, for the playing part; really deal with your instrument, learn as many of other people’s solos (that you look up to) as possible.
In what direction do you see the world of soul and funk heading?
That I’m not sure. I think it’s one of those genres that’s, right now, wide open. The smooth jazz genre has kind of gone away, there’s no more smooth jazz radio. The funk world itself is kind of diminished. There’s still the legends like P-Funk, Bootsy Collins, and there was Prince, but it’s all combined now. Soul and funk are one big category of urban now. Hip hop, R&B, pop; they all go together now! It’s interesting how all these groups are coming out, like Bruno Mars, who has funk and pop influences, they have all of these characteristics together. It’s really whatever you want to do with it, it’s the one genre where it’s open minded towards whatever you have to give. It’s very much like fusion right now, like Bruno Mars is completely a funk artist, but there are pop influences in there - how you present yourself, what you choose to wear, how you entertain, all of those things kind of decide your genre, not just what the music actually is.
What project(s) are you currently working on?
The next thing we’re doing in the studio is this single for one of my songs, which is in the soul and funk world, but it has a lot of trap influence. We also are finishing up doing our second album in the studio, so those are the things on the horizon for me.
Lakecia Benjamin plays Coltrane 2021:
Tracklist:
00:00 - Alabama [John Coltrane]
06:01 - Liberia [John Coltrane]
16:33 - Syeeda's Song Flute [John Coltrane]
30:38 - Interview with Lakecia Benjamin
34:02 - Walk with Me [traditional / Alice Coltrane]
43:20 - My Favorite Things [Richard Rodgers]
LAKECIA BENJAMIN QUARTET:
Lakecia Benjamin - sax Taber Gable - piano
Ivan Taylor - bass
EJ Strickland - drums
● #LakeciaBenjamin plays #Coltrane
Live at Tampere #Jazz
Happening, Finland, November 6, 2021 https://tamperejazz.fi/
Lakecia Benjamin - Jazzwoche Burghausen 2017:
Lakecia Benjamin - sax
Nicole Phifer - vocals
Devone Allison - keyboards
Trevor Allen - bass
Eric Brown - drums
Lakecia Benjamin Plays Alice Coltranes "Prema":
Lakecia Benjamin -- Alto Sax
Lonnie Plaxico-- Bass
Darrell Green-- Drums
Chris Rob--Piano
April 26, 2020
Live rehearsal of Alice Coltranes "Prema" @Michiko Studios 149 W 46th St floor 3, New York, NY 10036
From Lakecia Benjamin Album "Pursuance":
The Coltranes"
/ pursuance-the-coltranes
Lakecia Benjamin "Pursuance: The Coltranes" Album EPK:
Lakecia Benjamin plays 'My Favorite Things' 2023:
Lakecia Benjamin
August 7, 2023
Live Performance
July 14th at Gent Jazz Fest
Gent, Belgium
Welcome to the Sands Box with Christian Sands
Featuring Lakecia Benjamin:
January 17, 2023
Lakecia Benjamin - "Take Back" Official Music Video:
"Take Back" A story of taking back control over your life and reclaiming your destiny. Album Lakecia Benjamin Rise Up Pre order Feb. 23rd, 2018 Album release March 23, 2018 Ropeadope Records
LIVE: Lakecia Benjamin
Pursuance: The Music of the Coltranes 2020:
March 14, 2020
With alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, drummer Darrell Green, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, pianist Zaccai Curtis, vocalist Charenee Wade, and special guests: vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, bassist Reggie Workman, alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, and violinist Regina Carter
Lakecia Benjamin rises up from injury, loss and adversity to address the humanity in all of us:
Premiered February 1, 2023
Lakecia and Nicole Sweeney about her journey, from that first album (she says she never planned on doing another) to this new one, and the experiences of life in between that were the blueprint for Phoenix, which was released on January 27. https://www.wbgo.org/music/2023-02-01...
Lakecia Benjamin Plays Central Park West Live at the Winter Jazzfest:
January 23, 2020
Lakecia Benjamin & Pursuance Play Central Park West live at WinterJazz Festival New album Pursuance: The Coltranes
Lakecia Benjamin - March On:
March 27, 2018
"March On". It's a call to action. A spark of inspiration to create confidence, to believe in the power of positivity. To break through barriers and live the life of your dreams. Featuring GRAMMY Award Winning "Teacher of the Year" Melissa Salguero and the talented students of PS48 Music Department.
Download Here: https://fanlink.to/LakeciaBenjamin
Om Shanti worldwide
Om Shanti worldwide:
July 6, 2020
/ pursuance-the-coltranes Lakecia Benjamin - Turiya and Ramakrishna:
Lakecia Benjamin-Coltrane Theme-1/11/2020 New York City
Lakecia Benjamin live at (Le) Poisson Rouge, NY :
Lakecia Benjamin & Pursuance Play A Love Supreme live at ..
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, NEW YORK CITY:
New album Pursuance : The Coltranes Pre-release Feb 15, 2020 Worldwide release March 27, 2020
Featuring Jazzmeia Horn
Lakecia Benjamin Plays John Coltranes Alabama/Love ...
Recorded @ Jazz At Lincoln Center
From Lakecia Benjamin Album "Pursuance : The Coltranes"
/ pursuance-the-coltranes :
Lakecia Benjamin Quartet Spiral:
Lakecia Benjamin Plays John Coltrane's "Spiral"
Recorded @ Jazz At Lincoln Center
From Lakecia Benjamin Album "Pursuance : The Coltranes"
/ pursuance-the-coltranes
