Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin answers to a car accident with ‘Phoenix’ albums

By Alex Fischer

As the alto saxophonist tells it, her Grammy Award-nominated recording “Phoenix” was inspired by a car accident.

“I crashed off I-80. My car was completely wrecked,” jazz musician Lakecia Benjamin said in a recent Center for the Performing Arts online artist visit.

“I had three ribs broken, my scapula was broken, my jaw was broken, and I had a brain bleed,” she said. “We went from just, ‘Would I even live?’ now to ‘Would I play saxophone again because my jaw is broken?’”

Prior to the accident, Benjamin was on a professional streak. She released three studio albums: “Retox” (2012), “Rise Up” (2018) and “Pursuance: The Coltranes” (2020). As a touring musician, she had performed across four continents and even at former President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

After taking time off to heal and recover from her accident, she became inspired.

“I started getting the sounds of this phoenix music in my head,” Benjamin said. “Which is why the album starts with sirens … it was the first sound I heard coming to get me out of the woods.”

Her eponymous “Phoenix” (2023) and the follow-up “Phoenix Reimagined (Live)” (2024) led Benjamin and band to five Grammy Award nominations.

‘Just trying to have a good time’

Benjamin grew up in a Dominican neighborhood in Washington Heights, Manhattan, giving her music roots in merengue, salsa and Latin dance music. Today, she works to bring an intergenerational aspect to her music, embracing both traditional and new styles of jazz.

“We have members [in my band], the oldest are probably in their 80s and 90s, all the way down to those who are in their 20s and just rising up,” Benjamin said. “And we’re trying to find a way to show that jazz lineage through sound and shows, how jazz culture and a lot of these artists, communities, and practices are passed down, so people can look at it and see ‘Hey, this is where it all came from.’”

Benjamin respects the jazz lineage. She said she wants her concerts to be a safe space stacked with a good vibe.

“We’re basically just trying to have a good time,” she said. “How I approach all the shows is from a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of high energy, a lot of positive affirmations, a lot of upbeat presentations. We try to have a show that’s engaging and embraces the audience, to make them feel like they are a part of the show, that they’re crucial.”

Benjamin plays her part with confidence, in spite of the darkness that inspired her “Phoenix” music. In the past year, she and her band have performed a set on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. She said her bold fashion sense matches her dynamic performance style.

“I’m always in some kind of bright colors in my shows,” Benjamin said. “I’m probably gonna be wearing something bright. So I encourage audiences to wear gold, like a phoenix.”

Lakecia Benjamin will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Eisenhower Auditorium. Call 814-863-0255 or visit Center for the Performing Arts online for more information.

Alex Fischer is a communications intern for the Center for the Performing Arts.