LAKECIA BENJAMIN & PHOENIX

Lakecia Benjamin, Saxophone

Zaccai Curtis, Piano

Ivan Taylor, Bass

EJ Strickland, Drums

PHOENIX, released in January 2023 on Whirlwind Records and was masterfully produced by Terri Lyne Carrington alongside an incredible cast of soon-to-be-announced iconic special guests. The live tour will feature Benjamin’s quartet. The new album is a deeply personal outing for Lakecia and presents mostly all original compositions and arrangements, solidifying her standing as not just an amazing player but as a formidable composer and arranger. The record continues Lakecia’s legacy work with artists that she respects and has been mentored by and was heavily influenced by her experiences over the past two years, and all that she has learned since the release of Pursuance at the cusp of the pandemic.

Lakecia says: “This album is a bit of a rebirth for me; it continues the inter-generational legacy work I’ve been doing in the past by featuring guests that have inspired me musically, spiritually and as a human being. I am painting the picture of reinventing and recreating oneself from ‘the ashes’, so to speak, although this time using my own compositions as the vehicle. I am excited to be starting a new journey and partnering with Whirlwind Recordings to introduce this album to the world.” One of the most sought-after and revered saxophonists in the world, Lakecia was voted 2020 Downbeat Critics Poll Rising Star Alto Saxophonist and Up and Coming Artist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Known for her charisma and dynamism as a player, as a composer she has an inimitable skill of fusing traditional conceptions of jazz, hiphop and soul. She’s performed alongside Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Roots, Macy Gray and many more.