Nov 12, 2024 1:03 PM
2025 Grammy Nominees Announced
The official 2025 Grammy nominations have been announced with a slate of 94 categories. Here, we’ll focus on jazz and…
Pianist Sullivan Fortner is one of this year’s nominees for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
Nov 12, 2024 1:03 PM
The official 2025 Grammy nominations have been announced with a slate of 94 categories. Here, we’ll focus on jazz and…
Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin (left) was joined onstage by Australian trumpeter and trombonist James Morrison during her D.C. JazzFest performance.
Oct 8, 2024 1:20 PM
The 20th anniversary of the D.C. JazzFest (Aug. 28–Sept. 2) commenced with a bang. Alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin…
Makaya McCraven will perform at Brooklyn’s BRIC JazzFest on Oct. 18.
Oct 2, 2024 1:48 PM
BRIC, a multi-disciplinary arts and media institution based in Brooklyn, New York, has announced the return of the BRIC…
A concert of duets featuring trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and bassist Dave Holland was cerebral and unhurried at this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival.
Aug 13, 2024 12:07 PM
In its third edition since rebounding from senior management changes and COVID-related disruptions, the 44th Festival…
“I don’t do projects that don’t have a story or motivation,” Benjamin says.
Mar 7, 2023 2:44 PM
When DownBeat caught up with Lakecia Benjamin in November via Zoom, the saxophonist and composer was clad in a cherry…
Dee Dee, Kurt and Lakecia raise the roof.
Jan 31, 2023 12:47 PM
Vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, pianist Christian Sands, bassist Yasushi…
Tia Fuller (left), Sharel Cassity and Lakecia Benjamin took the stage and delivered at the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival.
Mar 22, 2022 1:24 PM
Bristling cutting contests are as cherished in jazz as bracing collaborations. When the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival…
“I got that chill in my spine. So I’m guessing that’s Kenny Garrett,” Lakecia Benjamin said while listening to the alto saxophonist play John Coltrane’s “Dear Lord.”
Nov 22, 2023 1:20 PM
Alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin continues her upward arc on the heels of her stunning 2020 release Pursuance: The…
The crowds were as welcome a sight as the diverse lineup of artists who appeared on the 19th annual D.C. Jazz Festival’s multiple stages.
Sep 14, 2021 1:02 PM
It was weeks off its usual schedule, cut back to a single weekend, yet the D.C. Jazz Festival, which held its 19th…
Galactic will headline the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival.
Jul 13, 2021 4:21 PM
The jazz festival season for 2021 has certainly been a moving target, mostly for the good. With a host of late-breaking…
The Monterey Jazz Festival, one of many reopening for late summer.
Jun 15, 2021 11:43 AM
In what has to be billed as the great jazz reopening, festivals are coming back online, many with late-breaking plans…
Lakecia Benjamin
May 11, 2021 11:30 AM
We’ve got some crazy streaming opportunities for you this week, including Welcome to the Sands Box featuring…
Bassist Christian McBride (left), saxophonist Joshua Redman, drummer Brian Blade and pianist Brad Mehldau reconvened in the studio after more than two decades for RoundAgain.
Dec 31, 2020 8:44 AM
In 2020, DownBeat sought to cover the breadth of jazz, while also working to represent what was going on in the country…
Veronica Swift has both a historical connection to the music and a desire to expand its artistic purview.
Dec 3, 2020 8:58 AM
Welcome to our enthusiastic, optimistic look at the future.
Below, DownBeat presents short profiles of two dozen…
Lakecia Benjamin performs Nov. 6 at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn as a part of Jazzfest Berlin, which this year included livestreamed performances from both sides of the Atlantic.
Nov 30, 2020 6:27 PM
In curating Jazzfest Berlin, Artistic Director Nadin Deventer always looks for a unifying narrative. For this year’s…
Lakecia Benjamin is among 25 artists DownBeat predicts will help shape the future of jazz.
Oct 26, 2020 11:30 AM
Lakecia Benjamin’s approach to jazz is influenced by the belief that Black music of all genres has a shared…
Mama, You Can Bet! (SomeOthaShip Connect) is Georgia Anne Muldrow’s third album release under her spiritual name, Jyoti.
Jul 20, 2020 1:21 PM
Georgia Anne Muldrow once described understanding herself as a medic—an artist who heals.
Throughout her career,…
Lakecia Benjamin performs during this year’s Winter Jazzfest, which ran Jan. 8–18 in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
May 26, 2020 9:52 AM
Set up in early May, the Jazz Coalition is rallying support for musicians unmoored from their regular incomes during…
Lakecia Benjamin’s latest album features compositions by Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane.
Apr 2, 2020 8:46 AM
When saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin finished the fourth song of her set, “Pursuance,” at Le Poisson Rouge in…
With its combination of indoor venues and outdoor stages, the Burlington Jazz Festival appeals to a wide variety of music fans.
Mar 24, 2020 10:45 AM
In a New York Times interview last year, Trey Anastasio reminisced about the night that he and his three bandmates in a…
Lakecia Benjamin performs during Winter Jazzfest, which ran Jan. 8-18 in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Jan 22, 2020 1:32 PM
Peer groups serve as vital incubators for artistic development, but equally critical are intergenerational…
Pianist Fred Hersch and bassist John Hébert perform Aug. 25 during the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Manhattan.
Aug 28, 2019 1:16 PM
In the early 1950s, bebop pioneer Charlie Parker lived in a townhouse on Manhattan’s Avenue B, bordering Tompkins…
Lakecia Benjamin’s new album is titled Rise Up.
May 16, 2018 4:15 PM
Because of the music’s sheer ebullience, it’s sometimes hard to comprehend the somber inspiration that fuels alto…
