Location: The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
In 2020, five-time-Grammy-nominee saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin was named a “rising star” in DownBeat Magazine’s 68th annual Critics Poll. That same year saw the release of her breakout album, Pursuance: The Coltranes, an intergenerational masterwork that takes the listener on a journey through the lineage of jazz by way of the works of John and Alice Coltrane. She hasn't looked back since. Charismatic and dynamic, Benjamin fuses traditional concepts of jazz, hip-hop and soul. Benjamin has shared stages with such giants as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots and Macy Gray, infusing her conception of jazz with the sounds of James Brown, Maceo Parker, Sly and the Family Stone and The Meters to produce soaring, dance-floor worthy rhythms. Her latest album, 2023's Phoenix, features guest appearances from modern legends Diane Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Wallace Roney and Angela Davis. Join Benjamin for an exploration of the living art form that is jazz.