STEFON HARRIS + BLACKOUT

LEGACY DANCES feat. CASEY BENJAMIN

Motéma Music

Four-time Grammy nominated vibraphonist, Stefon Harris, celebrates twenty years with his groundbreaking Blackout project. They open this new release titled “Legacy Dances” with the title tune, performed at a brisk tempo and featuring Casey Benjamin on woodwinds, vocoder and aerophone during this project.  On this premier tune, Benjamin soars on alto saxophone to heighten and energize the original composition by Stefon Harris.  Harris steps into the spotlight on his vibraphone with power and determination. Drummer Terreon Gully is on fire and spurs the ensemble upward.

When saxophonist, vocoder master, singer, keyboard player, songwriter and producer Casey Benjamin died on March 30, 2024, the Blackout group was left stunned, along with his friends and family. Casey was an integral part of the Stefon Harris + Blackout aggregation. They have dedicated this album to him.

Benjamin, a native of South Jamaica Queens in New York City, started playing saxophone at eight years old. He is remembered as a gifted musician who worked with a variety of artists and crossed genres, embracing his time with Betty Carter and Roy Hargrove. In the same breath of talent, his work with Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Mos Def, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce was just as important.  He also played keyboard and sax for Patrick Slump’s live solo project tour. He was a member of the Robert Glasper Experiment that won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

Casey Benjamin is the voice you hear reinventing the Stefon Harris + Blackout group’s reimagined rendition of “What a Wonderful World.”  This is one of the “cover” tunes on Harris’s “Legacy Dances” album. This project is a celebration of Casey Benjamin and inspired by ancestral influences, by community and a commitment to jazz as a living, ever-evolving art form.  It includes some of the final and finest recordings of Blackout co-founder and electro-soul-jazz innovator, Casey Benjamin.

On this project, Stefon Harris celebrates the art and legacy of the ancestors. He celebrates the heroes of his community.  On “Echoes of the Lion” he was inspired by New Jersey’s Willie “The Lion” Smith, using the bass line from Smith’s iconic composition “Echoes of Spring.”  Harris’s melody developed naturally from that magical bass line.

On “West End Blues” he tributes Louie Armstrong.  With Louie’s music deeply rooted in African American development of jazz and Blues, Harris uses Armstrong’s famed opening cadenza of this tune to introduce the arrangement.

If you read the very informative liner notes in the Stefon Harris CD booklet, you will certainly learn a lot about jazz history.  This tune features the aerophone, played beautifully by Casey Benjamin.

“I know Love” was written to memorialize Ilene Katz Lowenthal. Casey Benjamin sings beautifully during this composition.  The way he swept into his high tenor voice was mesmerizing.  Harris’s composition, “Ell’s Boogie” reminds me of something Eddie Harris would have played and written.  Stefon Harris says in his liner notes, this composition was written to celebrate Langston Hughes and his own family unit, especially his older son, Langston.

This is an album full of history, jazz innovation, unique compositions and exceptional instrumentation by these young talented players. Dwayne Clark adds a spark of spoken word, elevating the group’s fire. Scott Arcangel’s string orchestration brings more bright colors to this project. Some of the titles reflect Harris’s innovation like “A Radical’s Love,” “We Are an African People,” and he offers a positive conclusion with the lovely tune, “I Know Love.”  This music may inspire you to kick off your shoes and do your own “Legacy Dance.”

BLACKOUT BAND:  Stefon Harris, vibraphone/marimba/composer; Casey Benjamin, vocoder/alto & soprano saxophone/aerophone; Christian Sands, piano/keyboards; Dezron Douglas, bass; Terreon Gully, drums. GUESTS: Weedie Braimah, djembe; Dwayne Clark, spoken word; Scott Arcangel, wind & string orchestrations; Anne Drummond, flute; Oran Etkin, clarinets; Eric Eaton, cello.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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