By Jason and Alisha Hagey
As part of the UtahPresents Jazz at Kingsbury Hall series, Lakecia Benjamin and Phoenix create an evangelistic awakening rather than a concert. Benjamin, renowned for combining the sacred fire of jazz with the throb of hip-hop, funk, and soul, performs a set that blurs genres and dismantles any notion of boundaries or limitations. The result is a sonic communion in which groove becomes gospel and rhythm becomes revelation. Benjamin not only redefines modern jazz in her hands, but she also brings it to new life.
Simple scrim at the back with pink, orange, and blue light flowing across it in an ombre. An electric keyboard next to a grand piano, an upright bass waiting for its master, and a drum kit sit impatiently. Three men emerge from stage left, take their positions, and begin to play. They play jazz with heat, passion, and a robust, night-club sound.
Then Lakecia Benjamin (Alto Saxophone) walks onto the stage.
Dressed in a white tank top, high-heeled white boots, and a pair of flowy gold trousers, Benjamin exudes a rare blend of authority and ease. She’s a performer who knows she’s about to set the room ablaze. Backed by her band, Phoenix, she turns the venue into a crucible of rhythm and renewal, where jazz, funk, and soul meet not as genres, but as dominions.
The first notes hit with the velocity of a freight train. Benjamin’s alto cuts through with command. Her sound is quintessential jazz itself, but her phrasing belongs to no one else. She plays like she’s talking. Her phrases rise and fall with emotional cadence, syncopated and precise, and always in motion. Nothing about it feels rehearsed; everything feels intentional and improvised.
The band follows her lead with infectious exuberance. Oscar Perez’s (Piano) chords shimmered like heat waves. He plays the piano. He plays the keyboard. He plays them simultaneously. His dynamic interpretation of every note is outrageous and with virtuoso flair. Elias Bailey (Bass) lays down lines that pulse with funk gravity. A mediocre jazz bassist makes strumming the bass look fun. Bailey makes it look positively rapturous: euphoric. Quentin Baxter (Drums), Benjamin’s closest co-conspirator, is relentless, trading volleys with her in two blistering duets that blur the line between conversation and confrontation. The interplay is physical, propulsive, and ecstatic.
Benjamin’s reading of Amazing Grace is the night’s emotional axis. Quietly and respectfully, it starts, but as soon as the rhythm section enters, the well-known hymn starts to break. Amazing Grace develops into a fiery examination of liberation and faith. By the end, Benjamin’s body arches, her sweat shining in the lights, and she is shouting through her instrument. These Are a Few of My Favorite Things follows as a whirlwind homage to Coltrane, honoring his spirit while fearlessly reimagining his language. Benjamin blows through harmonic shifts with fearless clarity and rides the groove like a tornado storm she ineffably controls.
Between tunes, Benjamin takes the mic in her MC mode. She’s half poet, half preacher. Her patter carries the same rhythmic intelligence as her solos. She drops affirmations like beats: “We’re in this together,” she tells the audience. “This is about unity.” And it isn’t hyperbole.
On record, Benjamin’s jazz burns bright with narrative focus and sleek production, but live, those same songs explode. At Kingsbury Hall, that energy is almost overwhelming. Her rhythmic sense drives every moment. Even her pauses have momentum. That’s Benjamin’s quiet revolution: she bridges the sacred and the social, the intellectual and the instinctual. She doesn’t chase the ghosts of jazz’s past. Instead, Benjamin communes with them. Then she invites them to dance.
By the final refrain, the room is on its feet. Applause thunders, but it isn’t just a celebration. The experience is so intense, the applause is as much release as it is a reverie. Benjamin stands center stage, horn in hand, smiling like someone who has just lived through something immense and beautiful. And the reality is: she has.
Lakecia Benjamin doesn’t simply perform jazz. Her set isn’t a recital; it’s a revival. Benjamin’s saxophone doesn’t just trill or glide; it preaches. To that preaching, Perez adds the piano as a soulful choir. Baxter’s drums testify to the truth. Behind them all is the exuberant “Amen” and “Hallelujah” of Bailey’s bass. The audience doesn’t just hear jazz: every soul in Kingsbury Hall burns with it.
Estimated Runtime – 90 minutes with no intermission.
Utah Presents Jazz, Lakecia Benjamin, and Phoenix
Kingsbury Hall, Eccles Theater, Libby Gardner Concert Hall
1395 Presidents’ Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
October 23, 2025
7:30 PM
Box Office: 801-581-7100 (opens at 12 pm in person
Tickets: $21 – $75 (youth 6-18 are $13)
Purchase at: https://www.utahpresents.org/
Utah Presents
Lakecia Benjamin
Coming Soon:
Kurbasy: Nov 5
To Be a God featuring Little Moon: Nov 13, 14
The Lower Lights Christmas Concerts: Dec 11
UtahPresents, the performing arts presenter at the U of U, offers a mix of creativity and
culture that is at the cutting edge of arts programming. The new season of
UtahPresents, based at the iconic Kingsbury Hall on the U of U campus, showcases a
total of 19 exciting performances. Whether your love is dance, theater and story telling,
music, jazz, or an eclectic mix of them all, UtahPresents has shows for every taste.
Building on previous presenting seasons at Kingsbury Hall, UtahPresents launched in
2015 with a new brand and mission focused on community engagement and enrichment.
Now, UtahPresents is celebrating 10 years of programming, having presented close to
2,000 artists from 37 countries and served nearly one million people, including 75,000 K-
12 students. In addition to student matinees and public performances, UtahPresent
offers masterclasses, community workshops, performance opportunities for young artists
and more.
As UtahPresents’ programming has grown over the past 10 years, the organization is
always committed to making the arts affordable. UtahPresents’ total compensation for
artists more than doubled from 2015 to 2025, yet the average ticket price remains under
$25. U of U students can access all UtahPresents’ performances for just $5 with their
UCard (Arts Pass).
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