SAXOPHONIST LAKECIA BENJAMIN STEALS THE SHOW AT THE MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL ON TOUR LAST CONCERT

 

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Christian Sands, Lakecia Benjamin, Clarence Penn

The current iteration of the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour band is pianist Christian Sands, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, drummer Clarence Penn, vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling, and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. The all-star sextet show Sunday night at Detroit's Orchestra Hall was the last concert of their 20-city tour and the closer for the 2022-2023 Paradise Jazz Series. Thanks mainly to Benjamin, the 90-minute set was the best I've attended in recent years. Recently, Benjamin was the subject of a DownBeat magazine cover story and a lengthy New York Times feature detailing her setbacks, resolve, and hard-earned rise to fame. Last evening, I honestly didn't believe Benjamin intended to steal the show. But that's what she did on her original "Trane," a nod to John Coltrane from Benjamin's well-received fourth album "Phoenix." Before she played the composition, she cautioned the audience to buckle their seatbelts. She was right in issuing that warning because her blowing caused a lot of turbulence. Witnessing her running up and down the changes like her feet were on fire, I wondered if the NEA Jazz Master Kenny Garrett had cast the biggest shadow over her playing. The latitude she swings at is akin to Garrett's during his finest years. I'm not bullshitting when I report the audience had blessed her with two ovations before she stopped soloing. I felt like I was at a religious revival with Benjamin's alto sax doing all the preaching. After the audience regained its composure, Benjamin left the stage. And the rhythm section lowered the temperature with Sands's arrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Strange Meadow Lark, "which was Sands's turn in the spotlight. He delivered the mellowest and loveliest moment of the concert. Overall, the set was high energy, especially when Elling and Bridgewater performed. Two of the best jazz vocalists, singing beautifully and horsing around. The unnecessarily long and loud scatting annoyed the shit out of me, but the rest of the audience lapped it up. I had gotten my money's worth early on, witnessing Benjamin's musicality and showmanship. Elling was right when he proclaimed she's the future of jazz.