Exceptional jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin is coming to Prague with her recently released album "Phoenix". The album was produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, a multiple Grammy Award winner, and features a stellar line-up of specially selected guests: Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and the late Wayne Shorter.

The title of the new album “Phoenix” is a dual metaphor. Lakecia Benjamin refers to the New York she grew up in, which slowly died during the pandemic and then came back to life. But it’s also a personal reference to the near-death experience she miraculously escaped after a serious car accident in the fall of 2021. “Phoenix” can also be seen as another stratospheric rise for an artist who definitely knows what she wants to say and how to say it, while honoring her mentors and the tradition that came before her.

Although Lakecia Benjamin is primarily involved in jazz projects, the breadth of her talent is documented in her collaborations with Stevie Wonder and hip-hop icons such as DJ Premier and Missy Elliott. She dedicated her penultimate album to two greats who changed the history of jazz: saxophonist John Coltrane and his wife, multi-instrumentalist Alice. Pursuance: The Coltranes is a project of unparalleled depth and scope. Lakecia invited 40 jazz luminaries from three generations to participate – they include Ron Carter, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Meshell Ndgecello, Steve Wilson and others. The album was produced by 83-year-old Reggie Workman, whose supple bass lines have accompanied dozens of recordings by both John and Alice Coltrane.

Lakecia Benjamin grew up in New York City surrounded by the music of several generations. Although no one in the family was a musician, music was always playing in the house. “If I wanted to hear something old from the ’20s and ’30s, I went to my great-grandmother. My grandmother, on the other hand, was a fan of Stevie Wonder; my mother listened to contemporary hip-hop: Biggie, Tupac, Snoop Dogg.“ At 13, Lakecia heard Alice Coltrane for the first time. She refers to producer and bassist Reggie Workman as her “godfather”, as he was at the entrance exams when she applied to the academy. “When making the album, I needed someone to guarantee that the music would hold together. Someone who was there when John or Alice were making it. It wasn’t about conducting and leading. I chose him as a producer because he knew the Coltrans personally. And I think Reggie appreciated the fact that I was paying tribute not only to John Coltrane but also to his wife Alice.”