20th January 2023: Jazzwise and Downbeat magazine cover features for Lakecia Benjamin ahead of her album ‘Phoenix’ release

Lakecia Benjamin features as the cover star on both Jazzwise and Downbeat ahead of the release of her new album Phoenix.

Phoenix is the highly-anticipated, expansive new album in the musical evolution of alto saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin. The album was produced by the multi-Grammy-award winning Terri Lyne Carrington and features a star-studded line up of specially curated guests Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter.

The band is composed of trumpeter Josh Evans, Victor Gould on keys, Orange Rodriguez on synths, drummer Enoch (EJ) Strickland, percussionist Nêgah Santos and bassist Ivan Taylor. Trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr, Rhodes organist Anastassiya Petrova and bassist Jahmal Nichols all join for one track each.“When we came out from the pandemic we weren’t allowed to be broken,” Lakecia shares while describing the deeply personal outing Phoenix became for her.

The record presents mostly original compositions written throughout the seasons: “we had to be these beautiful absorbent birds and get to work. I wanted to highlight each month of that.” By design, the compositions on Phoenix are written around the skillsets of her triumphant guests, a handful of women in jazz who have had prominent influences on Lakecia.

The album drops January 27. More info and pre-order on our e-store here.