Let's take a listen to Let Go.

[Instrumental music] This song goes out to humanity.

We love you guys.

Let go.

Let go.

Let it flow.

Let it flow.

Uh, and you're gonna play out for us.

Well, I want to talk about a few things, but the first thing is, tell me about just what the environment was like, the scene was like when you were a kid, both musically and just kind of, you know, your neighborhood.

Neighborhood, I'm from Washington Heights, 186th Street.

So as you can imagine, back then, I mean, talking early 2000s, I was a predominantly Dominican neighborhood.

So merengue nonstop, like even for me to get into music, You know, when I started into the band, we were playing like Oye Como Va at the block party.

We were playing like classic merengue songs there.

And then later someone introduced me to it as we started to get more advanced.

Like, hey, you need to check out some of these songs.

And would you would you advise young women to do what you did to take those? I

She started with a performance of the album's opening track, Train, which she dedicates to sax legend, John Coltrane.

All right, here we go.

One, two, one, two, one, two, three, four.

(instrumental music)

Here's Lakeisha Benjamin.

(saxophone playing) That was my conversation with sax player and bandleader Lakeisha Benjamin about her 2025 Grammy-nominated album Phoenix Reimagined Live.

She's nominated again this year for her single Noble Rise.

And that is all of it for this hour.