GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist, composer and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin is back with her sixth album, We Dream, marking her debut since signing with Artwork Records late last year.
The follow-up to 2023’s Phoenix and its accompanying live album Phoenix Reimagined (2024), We Dream focuses on the New York-based musician’s frequent collaborations with guest appearances from pianists Oscar Pérez and Miki Hayama, bassist Elias Bailey, trumpeter Sean Jones, and drummer Jonathan Barber—alongside an expansive cast including Terence Blanchard, Hiromi, Chris Potter, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, Bilal, Tiaranna “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas, and The Roots co-founder Black Thought.
The album represents a shift in Benjamin’s artistic journey of “being a bright light in a dark space,” taking listeners on a poetic, cinematic journey. “It felt like that story couldn’t go all the way, given the state of the world,” Benjamin says in response to the theme in relation to her previous work. “So I started thinking about the idea of being a bright light in a dark space. Things feel really dark right now — everywhere — and we’re trying to be that light.”
