Rhonda Benin’s annual Just Like A Woman concert highlights and celebrates women composers and musicians. This year’s lineup on March 21 at Freight & Salvage, includes, among others, jazz guitarist/composer Mimi Fox, blues singer-songwriter Mz. Dee, jazz vocalist/recording artist Deborah Winters, vocalist/ensemble leader Michelle Jacques and singer/music educator Benin, the popular concert’s founder.
Stylized after the famed Motown and Stax Record Reviews, every year Just Like a Woman introduces new, young talent and celebrates the ongoing achievements of the Bay Area’s established, top female instrumentalists and vocalists.
Benin and her collection of dynamic women musicians deliver an upbeat, unifying message: As we lift our voices in protest or in praise, we become one choir, one people.
Benin is a 26 year member of the GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and The Cultural Heritage. In addition to her 2006 solo CD, A Matter of the Heart, Bay Area jazz-lovers catch her solo appearances at Yoshis, SFJazz and music festivals. Benin’s grounded-to-soaring voice, a show-stopping stage presence, and her unabashed love for dance has led to tours and recordings with renowned artists such as Taj Mahal, Odetta, Al Green, Keb Mo, Santana, Patti Austin, Janis Ian, Jackson Brown, Hugh Masekela & Sweet Honey In The Rock and others. An avid music educator, she is on the teaching staff of Healdsburg Jazz ‘s Operation Jazz Band, San Francisco Arts Project, LEAP, California Conservatory of Music, and conducts school assemblies and workshops based on original programs she has developed.
Because Benin is determined to honor the legacy and support the future of women in jazz, many of the artists perform two works: a cover of a song that was composed or made famous by a female performer and a second piece they themselves composed or adapted as an original composition. Fundraising campaigns support a number of free tickets offered to young women who might not otherwise be able to attend the concert.
In a 2017 interview, Benin said her goal for the show every year is to make sure people are “getting a bang for their buck.” She said the variety and quality of the musicians in Just Like A Women underscore the immense talent of women musicians in the local music scene. “The fact that we can sell out a show like this, a show where men come too, it proves the show is good, entertaining, and musical.”
For information and tickets, visit thefreight.org