As a young kid growing up in Jamaica Queens, also afforded Benjamin contact with musicians involved in the bustling Jamaica Funk crew – bassist Marcus Miller, trumpeter Tom Browne, and keyboardists Bernard Wright, Donald Blackman, Ozell Miller and Weldon, Irvine Jr. Benjamin complemented his early jazz studies by attending pianists Barry Harris’ Jazz Workshops and Dr. He started playing the saxophone when he was 8-years-old and continued his studies at the Harlem School of the Arts and Fiorello H. With singer and songwriter Nicky Guiland, Benjamin co-leads the funk-forward combo, HEAVy, which has released three discs – HEAVy (Kindred Spirits, 2000), Jazz Money$$ (BBE, 2007) and First Sessions (Kindred Spirits, 2008).īorn in 1978, Benjamin grew up listening to music in his South Jamaica Queens, New York home. Blige, John Legend, Lady Gaga, Summer Walker and Beyoncé and Black Rock Coalition gurus – Vernon Reid and Melvin Gibbs. In addition to the Experiment, Benjamin toured with singer Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) and has work with a string of other stellar musicians that include jazz greats – singer Betty Carter, vibraphonists Roy Ayers and Stefon Harris (Blackout), drummer Mike Clark (Headhunters) trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Victor Bailey, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist Buster Williams hip-hop artists – Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Busta’ Rhymes, Pusha T, Diddy, Heavy D, Consequence, DJ Logic and Wyclef Jean R&B/Pop singers – Anderson Paak, Solange, Bilal, Mary J. Through his melodic ingenuity on the vocoder, textual mastery on the keytar and spiky virtuosity on the alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, Benjamin gives the Experiment on its most defining sounds that has enable it to gain international acclaim in the jazz, R&B and hip-hop scenes on such trailblazing as Black Radio (Blue Note Records, 2012), Black Radio 2 (Blue Note Records, 2013) and ArtScience (Blue Note Records, 2016). Two time GRAMMY® award-winning Casey Benjamin is the first original member of the Robert Glasper Experiment.

TICKET AVAILABILITY: IF SELECTED TICKETS ARE “SOLD OUT”, PLEASE CHECK AVAILABILITY FOR ANOTHER TIME AND ANOTHER SEATING TYPEīlack Cat Summer Festival!! Presents: 2x GRAMMY-Award winner Casey Benjamin

Barry harris workshop video