Lakecia Benjamin isn’t only a five-time Grammy-nominated musician and saxophonist—she’s far more. She’s often an explosion of joy, and eager to share about what she’s learning along the way. When she plays here next week, it’ll be just a couple days after her birthday, too. Go ahead and consider the performance a belated celebration of sorts.
I was lucky to catch up with her when she was at home in New York City recently. She’d just played the Newport Jazz Festival when we spoke, among other industry heavy hitters like Jacob Collier, Christian McBride, Esperanza Spalding, and Marcus Gilmore.
Q: Do you ever get wowed by the other incredible people you play on the same bill or collaborate with on your albums?
Benjamin: I try to take everything as a blessing, and see the positive in everything. Any moment I get to collaborate with those I’ve looked up to — hearing their music, respecting their art, being in the same facility — seeing how they’ve come through by setting their own terms — a lot of people long for and wish for that. I’m grateful for those moments.
Q: I know you’re a fan of Maceo Parker. Have you played together?
Benjamin: I never played with him, but I’ve met him several times.
Maceo’s famous slogan is that he’s 99% funk and 1% jazz. I don’t know any saxophone player who doesn’t look up to Maceo and what he’s done for the instrument. He’s impeccable. Timing is impeccable. The sense of groove is impeccable. Bringing instrumental music to the forefront. What he’s done for the saxophone and giving it the front light: you can’t negate that. He’s done it with James Brown. He’s done it with Prince. He’s a staple in the cosmic scene. And despite what he says, he does have some jazz chops, and he shows them off well. The last time I saw him, he was in his late 60s. To see somebody up there still going and giving everything they got is an inspiration for me. We do share that: we give it all. If I’m funking, I’m funking. If I’m jazzing, I’m jazzing. Whatever it is, I’m doing it to the best of my ability.
Q: Tell me about your start in Latin dance music and merengue. How did that start?
Benjamin: It was a gift of proximity. I’m from Washington Heights, New York, a little bit above Harlem. The neighborhood is predominantly Latino. A lot of Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, a few Cubans. Merengue is the music I woke up to in the morning. That’s what was blasting. And the saxophone happens to be the lead instrument in that music.
So, when I started with music in school and we were learning how to play, we learned some classical music. Our teachers were trying to get us to play for their parents at barbecues and block parties as well. My entry point to getting into the music was keeping these guys on the dance floor as long as possible, and keeping them eating and drinking all night long. Culturally, it’s what they do.
I was lucky to come into the music with joy. It wasn’t, ‘Learn your scales. This is Bach. Be quiet and put on a nice evening gown.’ I was in the middle of the street with everyone partying their minds away.
Q: Joy’s an interesting word. Your 2020 Coltrane-inspired album sounds like a joy explosion, start to finish.
Benjamin: That’s how I felt. I was getting a little bored with the dance floor vibes. I wanted to get back to my roots. And if you want to jazz, you might as well just shred jazz. It’s rare that you find people in music that are not only amazing musicians, but amazing people. Their whole mantra in life is playing for and healing the people, seeing cultures around the world, infusing music and trying to be one. If you could sum up my life so far, that’s what I’m trying to do, too. It felt joyous to do an album with that in mind and know that I was going to get these 40 legends to drop on it, just to see what the world would say. They may say, oh, she’s a funk girl. We don’t have to listen to her. But you’re going to listen [to the album] when 40 legends are on it.
Q: Would you say that was a turning point for what you were doing musically?
Benjamin: Absolutely. I changed the direction I was going in. Before that, I was more underground. Some people knew about me, but they weren’t writing any reviews. They weren’t giving me awards. They weren’t putting me on any polls. Because the culture has garnered so much respect, and because of some of the musicians I chose to collaborate with, people had a chance to listen with fresh ears. From that moment on, it probably put me on the map. People started taking a second listen. And the second time, they were like, yeah, this stuff is genius.
Q: And when you put out Phoenix in 2023, the Grammy nominations started.
Benjamin: Yeah, that’s when it started.
Q: Did that do anything to you? Did it change how you approached your art?
Benjamin: It did change things. First, it let me know that I could be authentic and not gimmicky, that being myself is enough. People are starting to see me, so I’m going down the right path. But I had a choice to make. Would I continue to go down the path of wherever the genre took me or would I try to keep doing what I was doing to keep garnering success and maybe win one of these awards? It made me start to question things. You spend your whole life trying to be seen and when you’re seen, you wonder, is that what it’s all about? It does a number on you.
Q: You like being seen and you wonder if that matters, and it does.
Benjamin: It matters. If you’re not seen, you’re in a world of trouble. I wouldn’t be coming to Utah, I’ll tell you that. (laughs) But every artist has that. As you get older, you start to question what you’re doing and why you’re doing it? You recalibrate. I needed a moment to remember it’s not all about that.
I started doing music before I did Pursuance: The Coltranes. It was just me then and I hired a publicist for the first time. More than five years later and past Phoenix Reimagined, now it’s the publicist, the manager, the booking agents, the publishing people. A whole group of people. Everybody has an idea of what we need to be doing, how to do it, and why. I try to remember that it’s me and my love for the audience that got us here. We want to keep getting nominated and pull a win, but not at the expense of the fans who have been here. Whether they’ve been around since day one or now, they’re still in the seats. Let’s not forget them.
Q: Do you maintain creative control over where you want to go with your music?
Benjamin: So far, nobody has been like, ‘You’re gonna be a smooth jazz girl.’ I don’t have any contract where I’ve given up my control. Before, I could just say I’m dropping an album tomorrow. Now, we have a timeline. Whenever you start doing well, the positive expectations are there. Every amazing thing you put out, the question becomes, what’s next? I’m almost like Michael Jordan, trying to come up with next plays, while watching my peers do amazing stuff. Luckily, I like healthy competition. That feels good to me.
Q: On your last album, you had that element of spoken word on there too, with Sonia Sanchez? Are you going to do any more of that in your future?
Benjamin: That’s definitely staying. I find that sometimes with the saxophone, it’s almost like another language. When they hear the music, they might think, oh my god, this is so peaceful. And I’m thinking Rage Against The Machine, right? But they’re still enjoying it. I found having spoken words helps articulate your story, who you are. It helps make it clear. Even if you just say one paragraph, it helps people understand and puts them in context as to who you are and why you’re doing it. It gives them a little break from a sax in their face.
Q: And the saxophone is your instrument. You play others, but that’s what you love.
Benjamin: Sax for sure. It’s the closest to my speaking voice when I’m expressing it. If somebody told me to play something right now on any instrument to show who I really am, that’s what I would pick up. I have the most dedication to it. I have the most passion for it. In a next life, maybe I’ll come back with a bass, but it’s who I am right now. It allows me to be as free as I want to be.
Q: How often do you play on your own?
Benjamin: When I’m at home, all the time. I’m writing a new album right now, so I try to get at least four hours on saxophone, then move on to writing. If there were no restrictions, and the album was finished, I’d spend at least six hours with it a day. After almost every show, even though I’m signing merch and talking to people, I can hear in my head all the places I couldn’t get to. It’s so clear. It’s like I was trying to go down a street and there was a roadblock. My teachers say to try to practice immediately after a show to break down those walls. I will try to write it down. I record voice memos. Two years from now, I don’t want to be playing the exact same way. My goal is to go as far as I can go with it with the time I have. That’s my number one priority.
Q: And time is precious.
Benjamin: It is. Look at the way things are today with artists. You’ll see them play and, the next day, they’re gone. I don’t like to put things off. My goal is to get as much work out, hit as many audiences as possible, and ravage their cities, hitting all speeds and meeting everybody. From New York to California to Utah to Paris, each place is completely different. I’m trying to see everything so I can make music that is reflective of what I’m seeing. If I don’t see them and I don’t go out there, you can argue I shouldn’t be talking.
Q: ‘Noble Rise’ is the new single. Is that connected to the album you’re writing?
Benjamin: In terms of ‘Let me put this album out!’ it’s connected. (laughs) I needed something. WIth Phoenix, we couldn’t even just go to a brand new album right away, because people were stuck on it. They don’t even call me Lekecia: it’s Phoenix girl. That’s how they see me. We had to do Phoenix Reimagined (Live), because I wanted to flip it a bit and add new stuff. With ‘Noble Rise,’ I’m attempting to give them a nice little usher. Listen, we’re moving forward.
Q: Basically saying ‘this is the new direction,’ yeah?
Benjamin: Yeah. Please let it go. We’re still going to perform any song at any time. But that song was to clean the slate. This was moving forward to what’s going on now. It’s not a part of me anymore. All those records and albums, they stay with you. I’m not changing into some kind of butterfly, I’m just telling the story. I’m asking for permission to turn the page and go to the new chapter. And it’s going to get better. Don’t be worried.
Q: Can you say anything about the new album?
Benjamin: The last three albums have been — except for little twerks here and there and some funky moments — they’re pretty straight-ahead, hard-hitting jazz. I think now I’m looking to find a nice, even medium between all the sides of me.
We’re going to fuse genres. It’s going to be Latin funk. Let’s find a way that this show can be embraced by everyone. Most of the time it is, but I want to make it more obvious and transparent and feature people that I feel that in their day to day life, that’s what they’ve done for the music. They are people who have helped make our genre last longer.
Q: This sounds more political than I mean it but: bringing people together, erasing lines, not saying you need to play one certain way, that’s all so important.
Benjamin: Totally. Making it one big audience. Yeah, the world’s a little divided right now, and it’s going to be divided for a while, so I have to embrace that and try and figure it out. I don’t anticipate that in the next three months, it’s just going to be Kumbaya, either. It’s definitely going down first.
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