Res. No. 508

Resolution designating October 10 annually as Casey Benjamin Day in the City of New York and celebrating the genius of his music and his unique contributions to a variety of music genres.

By Council Members Williams and Riley

Whereas, Casey Bryon Benjamin was born on October 10, 1978, in Brooklyn to Gentle Benjamin, a television producer from Grenada, and Julieta McAlmon Benjamin, a nursing assistant from Panama; and

Whereas, Benjamin then moved to South Jamaica, Queens, where he grew up surrounded by Caribbean and Latin culture and musical influences, including the Jamaica Funk Crew; and

Whereas, Having become interested in jazz at the young age of four, Benjamin began playing the saxophone at the age of eight and was performing by the age of 12; and

Whereas, Benjamin graduated from Manhattan’s prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in 1996 and went on to study music at the New School’s School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he met Robert Glasper, who would become an important part of his music career; and

Whereas, Beginning their formal collaboration in 2004, Benjamin became a founding member of the Robert Glasper Experiment, led by keyboardist Glasper and later described by The New York Times critic Nate Chinen in 2012 as “specializ[ing] in deep, immersive grooves, nourished as much by hip-hop and R&B as any known species of jazz”; and

Whereas, Nominated for five GRAMMY Awards during his career, Benjamin won a GRAMMY in 2012 with the Robert Glasper Experiment for best R&B album for Black Radio, which featured Erykah Badu, Lupe Fiasco, and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def); and

Whereas, In 2015, Benjamin won another GRAMMY Award for best traditional R&B performance for the Robert Glasper Experiment’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Jesus Children”; and

Whereas, Benjamin was known for his vibrant stage presence and his swirl of braided hair, often streaked with color, gathered on top of his head; and

Whereas Benjamin’s “energy exuded freedom” before he even played a note, according to bass player and composer Derrick Hodge, who collaborated with him in the Robert Glasper Experiment and in Stefon Harris’s band Blackout; and

Whereas, Benjamin also collaborated, recorded, and toured with a long list of well-known jazz, Hip Hop, and R&B solo artists and groups, including Betty Carter, Drake, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Wyclef Jean, Solange, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé; and

Whereas, As an associate music producer working alongside rapper and producer Q-Tip, Benjamin lent his talents to Ali, a musical about the life of Muhammad Ali; and

Whereas, Although Benjamin was an acclaimed alto, tenor, and soprano saxophonist, The New York Times noted that “he never let himself be limited, by genre, style or even instrument” and that “he created a rainbow of sounds using not only reeds and woodwinds but also a vocal synthesizer manipulated with a keytar (a keyboard instrument worn with a strap around the neck), along with other synthesizers and effects pedals”; and

Whereas, In a 2018 interview on the HighBreedMusic website, Benjamin described his own style as “creat[ing] this lane for myself…this sort of thing that, you know, only I can do” and noted that “99 percent of my career, I have been hired to be myself…[people say] just let him do what he does; and

Whereas, In that same interview, Benjamin described the key to success as “find[ing] something that…nobody else does and, when you find it, do it every single time”; and

Whereas, On March 30, 2024, Benjamin died of a pulmonary thromboembolism at the age of 45, prior to the release of his new solo album; and

Whereas, According to his obituary in DownBeat, a jazz and blues music magazine, Benjamin “possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone and a unique sense of phrasing” and was described as “most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects” and for his distinctive “use of vocoder-processed vocals, often manipulated through the keytar he played onstage”; and

Whereas, His longtime collaborator Glasper told Rolling Stone magazine that Benjamin was the “epitome of what it means to be unique and one of a kind” and “the true meaning of a genius at his craft”; and

Whereas, In a recent tribute at a concert by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump, one of his collaborators, Stump said of Benjamin that “to be in his presence is to understand that music is supposed to be joy [and that] we are supposed to share this together”; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York designates October 10 annually as Casey Benjamin Day in the City of New York and celebrates the genius of his music and his unique contributions to a variety of music genres.

LS #16719

6/17/2024

RHP