Concert Review: Lakecia Benjamin

She has a style—no question about it. In Lakecia Benjamin’s case, it’s gold. She’s taken the color of her alto saxophone and wrapped her body in it. On the covers of her last couple of albums, the gold wardrobe rules, with some white accents. Sunday night at the Newman Center, she sported gold, skin-tight pants, and a gold jacket over a white shirt with white boots. Then there’s the big hair, pulled to one side and the dramatic mascara behind the oversized rectangular glasses. It’s a flashy look. And it matches her playing.

Besides her flashy alto sax work, Benjamin proved to be an amiable emcee. She chatted with the audience throughout the evening and was a gracious band leader, introducing her backing band members numerous times during the concert. She explained that it was her first time playing Denver and she and the band were feeling the altitude. Despite a slight lack of oxygen, Benjamin and the band moved enough air to power a small wind farm.

A simple summary of the concert could be peace, love, joy, and Coltrane. In 2020, Benjamin released the album Pursuance: The Coltranes (Ropeadope) with compositions by both John and Alice Coltrane. That Coltrane influence was prominent in the early part of her set, especially with her rendition of “My Favorite Things.” No one thought of Julie Andrews during this performance. John Coltrane, of course, adopted this little nugget from The Sound of Music and bent it to his will. Sunday night, Benjamin did much the same, pouring all of her spiritual and physical energy into the performance. She commented afterward that there was a little gold puddle on the stage. She suggested a towel was needed to mop it up. A helpful fellow in the front row offered her his handkerchief to assist in the clean-up operations. After checking with his female companion Benjamin accepted the offer but didn’t actually wipe the floor with it. Isn’t that somebody else’s job?

Although peace, love, and joy continued throughout the evening through both her comments and playing, Benjamin eventually moved beyond the Coltranes and revealed her eclectic side. Her substantially revised “Amazing Grace” wasn’t a large leap from Coltrane’s spirituality, but she then dove into the blues and dabbled in some Latin grooves. During her monologs, she even launched into a couple of raps.

Sunday night Benjamin was joined by her regular band comprising Oscar Perez on piano and organ, Elias Bailey on bass, and E.J. Strickland on drums. Benjamin gave all the members ample room to solo, particularly Perez who exuberantly pounded the Newman Center’s grand piano into submission with several high-voltage solos. Bailey was solid all night through shifting genres and put his acoustic bass to work overtime on funk tunes. Strickland anchored the whole affair and, like Bailey, nimbly shifted his drumming style to compliment and emphasize the chosen rhythmic requirements of the moment.

Yes, I just mentioned “funk.” Benjamin closed out the show with some down-and-dirty syncopation worthy of James Brown, the Meters, or Tower of Power. She announced just before the last funky tune that the jazz show was over. Only one audience member fled. The rest of us worked out all the kinks in our necks and went home filled with peace, love, joy, Coltrane, and the funk.

Lakecia Benjamin
Newman Center, Denver
October 13, 2024
By Geoff Anderson

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