Benjamin Lackner Quintet

Lakecia Benjamin

A winner of the German Jazz Prize 2023 is headed for the Elbphilharmonie, with saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin set to take to the stage. Born in New York in 1982, she is performing her politically motivated concept album »Phoenix«, which responds to a post-Covid America where racism and poverty are on the rise, as well as dealing with the self-confidence of black women. Just a cursory glance at the cover of »Phoenix« makes it clear where Lakecia Benjamin sees her roots. Resplendent in gold costume and white boots, she proudly shows off her instrument like a sceptre, referencing the fighting spirit of Black Power activist and singer Betty Davis, the Afrofuturism of Sun Ra and the importance of ancient African kingdoms. Benjamin grew up in New York’s Latino neighbourhood Washington Heights, playing in salsa and merengue bands there and establishing herself as a session musician after graduating from music school. She has performed with Stevie Wonder and Harry Belafonte, and has toured with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliot. After two funk-heavy albums, she turned her attention to the cosmic phase of Alice and John Coltrane. This influence can also be heard on »Phoenix«, in Benjamin’s furious yet lyrical intonation with the alto saxophone and through the dense interplay with her band – with Victor Gould on piano, Ivan Taylor on bass and the fabulous drummer E.J. Strickland. This is music serving as a spiritual, healing force!

Wind Quintet

JazzKLUB / Wonderfully swinging / Kresten Osgood Quintet

It is difficult to overestimate Kresten Osgood’s significance for the Danish scene. There is nothing he would not play, no challenge he would not accept. And even when he wants to pay tribute to the jazz tradition in the iconic formula of a quintet with the trumpet and the saxophone, he does it on his own terms – alongside the immortal standards by Monk and Dolphy, he reaches for contemporary musicians (such as Kirk Knuffke), ones who have not found a wide recognition (such as Elmo Hope and Randy Weston) and those who have found some, but only in their own country (such as the Austrian Harry Pepl or the Danish Leo Mathisen). For reasons unknown, returns to jazz classics are best done by musicians who have tried their hand at numerous avant-garde ventures. Osgood’s quintet performs the wonderfully swinging pieces in a slightly frolicsome manner, as it would have been put years ago, or totally chilled out, as it would be put today. They smile, find joy in their playing and never miss any chance to have fun with the material to be performed. Tomasz Gregorczyk Concert duration: approximately 90 minutes

Lakecia Benjamin

Alles nur Pose? Mitnichten. Lakecia Benjamin kann zwar jede Menge optische Pluspunkte sammeln, weiß jedoch auch musikalisch zu überzeugen. Die Saxofonistin erlebt mit dem aktuellen Album »Phoenix« einen furiosen Karrieresprung, der sogar in einer Grammy-Nominierung mündet.Seit 2020 geht es rasant aufwärts: Mit ihrem Album »Pursuance«, eine Hommage an John und Alice Coltrane, sorgte Lakecia Benjamin international für Aufsehen. Aber nicht nur mit beeindruckender Livepräsenz, sondern auch als charismatische Integrationsfigur setzt die Altsaxofonistin Akzente. Als Arrangeurin vereint sie wie selbstverständlich verschiedene Musikergenerationen, Genres und Kulturen. Keine Frage, Lakecia Benjamin ist eine Persönlichkeit, die dem Jazz völlig neue Impulse geben kann.

Benjamin Kruithof

Kickstart your morning with music from some of the most influential composers of the late 19th and 20th centuries, performed by cellist Benjamin Kruithof.

Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet

SIMON SHAHEEN QUINTET

JazzKLUB / Insane Imagination / James Brandon Lewis’ Red Lily Quintet

The 40-year-old saxophonist’s music is a bridge between the religious tradition of the Black South, the heritage of wonderful jazz tenors, and the fire of free jazz. It is not so much located in the borderlands of jazz classics and the so-called avant garde, as it is above the division, ever more artificial these days. The leader of the Red Lily Quintet managed to bring together musicians who think similarly to him, the very best in the generation of great synthesis. Lewis’ skills as a saxophonist go through the roof and his imagination is insane – this much is well known. He is also characterised by charisma and a specific type of fervour that is sometimes described as “soulful”, “emotional” and “deep”, but none of the words alone could ever summarise the attitude. To see James Brandon Lewis playing live is an experience like none other. Tomasz Gregorczyk Concert duration: approximately 90 minutes

Marc Ribot Quartet »Hurry Red Telephone« / Red Lily Quintet

The Marc Ribot Trio celebrated a premiere in a new line-up at the famous NYC Winter Jazzfest in 2024 – now they come with James Brandon Lewis on saxophone as support to Hamburg for the »Reflektor« Festival dedicated to Ribot. The musicians first played together in 2005 on the album »Spiritual Unity«, a homage to the legendary free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. Alongside Marc Ribot and drummer Chad Taylor as consistent members of the trio, at that time Henry Grimes still played on bass. He worked with Cecil Tayler, Don Cherry and Albert Ayler, amongst others, in the 1960s. In the current line-up, Hilliard Greene replaces Henry Grimes, who passed away in 2020, on double bass. With James Brandon Lewis, whose Gospel-influenced sound on tenor saxophone seamlessly blends into the eruptive sound of the band, the trio becomes a quartet. James Brandon Lewis, as bandleader of the Red Lily Quartet, also takes centre stage in the second set of the evening. The programme »For Mahalia, with Love« is a tribute to the Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, who made famous traditional songs, such as »Swing Low«, »Sparrow« and »Wade in the Water«. Lewis has a personal, emotional connection to the work of Mahalia Jackson: his grandmother had introduced the music to him when he was just a child. So, he also describes his arrangements as a »Three-way conversation between Mahalia, my grandmother and me.«

Benjamin Kruithof, violoncello

Each year, the European Concert Hall Organisation selects six Rising Stars and sends them on a journey through its member concert halls. The young stars of 2024/25 also include cellist Benjamin Kruithof, who thanks to his »classy, cantabile and lovely tone« (bachtrack.com) emerged as the winner of the George Enescu Cello Competition in 2022. He can wholeheartedly display this beautiful tone at the Elbphilharmonie. After all, the programme culminates in the almost infinite melodies of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s cello sonata. However, first of all, Kruithof gives the evening a poetic start with the »Trois Pièces« by Nadia Boulanger and then presents his Rising Star commissioned work by British composer Sally Beamish. It continues with music by Benjamin Britten, who always knew how to produce a superb balance of modernity and sensuality in his works. In the five movements of his cello sonata, a real kaleidoscope of moods and textures evolves in which the melodic flair of the cello already appears several times. Rachmaninoff propelled this unrivalled ability to span the broadest arcs in his large-scale sonata to a glittering climax and lets the cello paint sensually over the edge – a fitting end!