Lakecia Benjamin - LYDIALIEBMAN.COM

We Dream
Release date: June 5, 2026
Label: Artwork Records

We Dream is the new studio album by New York–based alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin. Conceived as a deeply band-driven project, her sixth album and Artwork Records debut, centers on Benjamin’s frequent collaborators in pianists Oscar Pérez and Miki Hayama and bassist Elias Bailey — along with new associates in trumpeter Sean Jones, and drummer Jonathan Barber — alongside an expansive cast of guest collaborators drawn from across jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and experimental music.

“It does, as usual, have some of my guest flair,” Benjamin explains. “But this time, it’s for a different purpose.” Following the arc of 2023’s Phoenix and 2025’s Grammy-nominated, standalone single “Noble Rise,” We Dream reflects what Benjamin describes as a shift in perspective — a response to the present moment and the world around her. “It felt like that story couldn’t go all the way, given the state of the world,” she says. “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.”

Rather than assembling guests for ornamentation, Benjamin approached the project as a collective statement, bringing together artists she admires for their capacity to evolve, innovate, and reshape musical language. Her self-described team of “Avengers” includes trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah; saxophonist Chris Potter; drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts; pianist Hiromi; vocalists Bilal and Tiaranna “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas; and drummer and producer Kassa Overall.

When describing her collaborators, Benjamin emphasizes that they are not bound by genre, pointing instead to artists who have reshaped music through sound, presentation, and the spaces in which it can exist.

We Dream arrives after a period of heightened visibility for Benjamin. After years working with artists including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Prince, Missy Elliott, Anita Baker, Gregory Porter, Kool & the Gang, and The Roots, she redefined her artistic direction with 2020’s Pursuance: The Coltranes, a guest-driven project honoring John and Alice Coltrane as parallel creative forces. Released during the pandemic, the album marked a turning point — reconnecting Benjamin’s work to lineage, spirituality, and personal responsibility during a moment of global pause.

She followed Pursuance with Phoenix, recorded after surviving a near-fatal car accident. The album proved a breakthrough, earning multiple Grammy nominations — including Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Best Instrumental Composition (“Amerikkan Skin”), and Best Jazz Performance (“Basquiat”) — and expanding both the scale and audience for her work.

Phoenix’s sister album, Phoenix Reimagined (Live) — announced on national TV by Stephen Colbert while she sat in with the Late Show Band — was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Jazz Performance. At the forthcoming 2026 ceremony, Benjamin is nominated for Best Jazz Performance for the standalone single “Noble Rise,” featuring fellow alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins.

Musically, We Dream unfolds as a cinematic, poem-driven journey. The album opens with the mesmerizing, tenacious spoken word piece “First Light.” This segues into “Beyond the Dawn,” featuring Terence Blanchard alongside Sean Jones, Barber’s mallet work, and a spoken-word invocation by Benjamin that sets the album’s tone — part meditation, part reckoning. The music then surges forward, channeling intensity, propulsion, and forward motion.

Throughout the record, Benjamin blends spoken word, groove-based writing, and high-energy improvisation. “My Only,” featuring Jones, explores isolation and endurance. “Mi Gente,” with Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, centers community and cultural exchange, grounded in rhythm and collective movement.

“Dream Breaker,” featuring Watts, Potter, and Jones, pushes the music into a more combustible space, while “Flamekeeper,” with Hiromi and Potter, accelerates through force, volume, and extended exchange — reflecting Benjamin’s admiration for artists “who are not standing still, who are pushing forward, who are innovating.”

The album’s title track, “We Dream,” features spoken word and vocals by Tiaranna “Tank” Ball, whose narrative presence shapes the composition’s emotional arc. Later, “Right Now” brings together Bilal and Kassa Overall in what Benjamin describes as the record’s dramatic peak, where lyric, rhythm, and improvisation converge. The closing track, “New World,” offers a quieter resolution — a glimpse of the light Benjamin set out to find.

Across We Dream, Benjamin situates jazz within a broader cultural landscape, reflecting her growing presence at festivals where jazz shares the stage with DJs, reggae acts, and genre-defying artists. But genre aside, it stands as a bold, intentional artistic statement — one that insists on forward motion, collective imagination, and the power of sound to illuminate even the darkest spaces.

Noble Rise (Single)
Release date: June 27, 2025
Label: Ropeadope Records

The Phoenix era — encompassing that 2023 album and its 2024 live counterpart, Phoenix Reimagined — has been good to Lakecia Benjamin.

Stemming from a car accident that nearly claimed her life, Phoenix netted 3 Grammy nominations for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, and Best Jazz Performance — with Phoenix Reimagined matching it in the latter two categories. None other than Stephen Colbert announced Phoenix Reimagined, live on air, with the alto saxophonist and composer herself guesting in the Late Show Band.

But Benjamin — much like her heroes John and Alice Coltrane, who she memorably paid tribute to with 2020’s Pursuance — has never been content to rest on her laurels. “We’re not just rising from the ashes anymore—we’ve done that,” Benjamin proclaims, “Now, we’re stepping into a season that honors every side of who I am: the survivor, the sovereign, the storyteller. This is a more regal era—rooted, radiant, and fully claimed.”

The first offering thereof is “Noble Rise” — a simmering collaboration with fellow alto voyager Immanuel Wilkins, who released his acclaimed third album for Blue Note, Blues Blood, in 2024. Less a saxophone battle than a meeting of the minds, the track features Benjamin’s core band as well as guitarist Mark Whitfield.

Benjamin was drawn to Wilkins for many reasons — his Philly roots, his control of his image, his mastery of the instrument at a young age. “I was looking to showcase where Immanuel and I are at in our careers — some of the similarities, some of the differences,” she says. “And to highlight getting knocked down, but striving, trying to get through.”

“Noble Rise” is a riveting introduction to Benjamin’s new chapter. We’re leaning into a more regal expression,” There’s a sense of heroic elevation“The ashes are no longer her origin story—they’re her foundation. Benjamin now creates from power, not pain.”

The launch of “Noble Rise” coincides with the continuation of her international tour, as well as two key performances on the West Coast – on June 13, Lakecia will perform at the SF Jazz Festival and on June 14, she will make her debut at the world famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Her European tour dates will see her make stops in Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Netherlands. She will return to the Newport Jazz Festival main stage in August.

Phoenix Reimagined (Live)
Release date: July 12, 2024
Label: Ropeadope

GRAMMY NOMINEE

First announced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and following her week-long stint sitting in with The Late Show Band, 5x GRAMMY nominated star alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin returns with her first-ever live studio album, Phoenix Reimagined (Live).

To witness a live performance by the alto saxophonist, MC, and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin is to never forget it.

The success of her most recent releases, 2023’s Phoenix and 2020’s Pursuance: The Coltranes, positioned Benjamin among jazz’s most celebrated recording artists: In addition to absolute raves in outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian and DownBeat, she received three Grammy nominations for Phoenix, as well as an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album.

And yet — the ever-rising star from Washington Heights remains, at her core, an improviser best experienced in her soul-stirring concerts. Each and every time she hits the bandstand, she takes her repertoire, and her wide-ranging audience, to sublime new planes. And her message — of spiritual uplift, of social and political liberation — soars higher still.

“I’m trying to make sure everybody has a good time, that they feel free to express whatever emotions they have in that moment,” Benjamin says. “If I have to shift or move to emotionally connect with my audience or touch them, I’m open to all those options.”

Given Benjamin’s personal story over the last few years, her live dates are nothing short of life-affirming. In 2021, she was involved in a car accident that resulted in more than one potentially career-ending injury: Benjamin broke her jaw, shoulder blade and ribs, and ruptured an eardrum, among other wounds. Today, she’s regained her confidence and physical strength, and embraces whatever limitations her accident may have engendered. She also realizes she has decades more music and travel to go. “I don’t think about the accident anymore. Some people might see my shows now as a victory lap, because inspiration comes in multiple forms,” Benjamin says, “but I really feel I’m still learning. I’m trying to get uncomfortable. I’m trying to grow. I’m trying to play better.”

Benjamin’s new album, Phoenix Reimagined, focuses on the music from her acclaimed Phoenix project and adds three new songs. It was captured live-in-studio at Brooklyn’s the Bunker — a great-sounding space whose alumni include everyone from Brad Mehldau to Bang on a Can to the Black Keys. Combining the spontaneous magic of a live LP with the crisp, crystalline audio that only a world-class studio can deliver, Phoenix Reimagined illustrates that vibrant togetherness between Benjamin and her live listeners. In the case of the Bunker show, that meant pretty much anyone who adores music as much as she does. “I was like, you know what? Let’s celebrate life. Let’s celebrate everything. I’m going to invite everybody to this studio,” Benjamin recalls with a chuckle. “The studio personnel were lucky I didn’t just open the door!” The atmosphere took the saxophonist back to her earliest years hitting the NYC jam-session scene: the heat, the camaraderie, the competition, the hard-earned lessons. “It just reminded me why I love music,” she says.

The packed-out crowd was privy to an all-star quartet Benjamin assembled to record the title track, featuring guitarist John Scofield, trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. The composition hit Benjamin as a flash of inspiration the night before the gig. Crafted specifically with this legendary band in mind, it ranks among the most compelling tunes in her catalog — a postbop burner worthy of a classic ’60s Blue Note session. “People think I have a list of musicians I want to play with that takes up a wall in my house,” Benjamin says, “and it’s true!” On her Phoenix album, Benjamin was able to collaborate with some of her greatest heroines: Angela Davis, Sonia Sanchez, Patrice Rushen, Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow. “‘Phoenix Reimagined,’” Benjamin explains, “highlighted some of the men that I’ve looked up to and wanted to meet.”

Her first interactions with Scofield were especially memorable. Part of her duties as the Monterey Jazz Festival’s 2023 Artist in Residence included a performance at the annual festival gala, alongside Scofield, Reeves, Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride and other masters. After the gala rehearsal had wrapped, and all the other veteran greats had gone back to the hotel, Sco stayed behind to chat. “He said, ‘Hey man, you kinda got the gas turned all the way up,’” Benjamin recalls. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah — you’re kind of like me.’”

Benjamin seems to share that simpatico creative bond with everyone she takes the stage with, especially the core group that joins her here: pianist Zaccai Curtis, bassist Elias Bailey and drummer E.J. Strickland. “All the things I experience, on the road and in life,” Benjamin says, “they’re experiencing it as well.” Other favorite collaborators appear on “Mercy” and the new “Let Go,” two songs that soulfully bridge the R&B-to-jazz gap. On the latter, the singer Melodie Ray embellishes Benjamin’s entrancing, cathartic spoken-word, as bassist Richie Goods and pianist Ray Angry center the groove; guitarist Kat Dyson throws down a solo worthy of Santana. Melodie Ray, a standout member of Benjamin’s Soul Squad, adds powerful dramatic depth. “We have an incredible vibe,” says the saxophonist. “She’s genre-less: She can soul, she can funk, she can country, she can jazz.”

The program covers the breadth of the Benjamin live experience. Songs like the politically trenchant “Amerikkan Skin” and the new “Peace Is Possible” underscore Benjamin’s status as one of the only truly genuine jazz-rap artists in either genre; in her politically insightful spoken-word and rhymes, you can hear a brief history of Black poetry and hip-hop, from Angela Davis and Jayne Cortez to Roxanne Shante and MC Lyte to Q-Tip and Kendrick. Elsewhere, she reiterates that she’s the rare alto saxophonist — along with Kenny Garrett and her mentor Gary Bartz — who is capable of carrying the torch for the school of John Coltrane. (She already proved herself in this regard on Pursuance — a profound tribute album that understood how the story of John Coltrane is actually the story of the life John and Alice Coltrane built together.)

On her original homage “Trane” and “My Favorite Things,” Benjamin is positively explosive, tapping into the Coltranes’ indomitable spirit while exploring her own fervently ruminative phrasing. Not surprisingly, the first jazz concert recording that Benjamin can recall listening to is John Coltrane’s Live at the Half Note. “The Coltranes have an urgency in every recording you hear,” she explains, “to get better at what they’re trying to do. They have an urgency to keep relating to people and keep touching people and keep growing and keep finding out how they can be better.” Without a doubt, you could say the same for Lakecia Benjamin.

Phoenix
Release date: January 27, 2023
Label: Whirlwind Recordings
GRAMMY NOMINEE

Phoenix is the highly-anticipated, expansive new album in the musical evolution of alto saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin. The album was produced by the multi-Grammy-award winning Terri Lyne Carrington and features a star-studded line up of specially curated guests Dianne Reeves, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Patrice Rushen, Sonia Sanchez, Angela Davis and Wayne Shorter. The band is composed of trumpeter Josh Evans, Victor Gould on keys, Orange Rodriguez on synths, drummer Enoch (EJ) Strickland, percussionist Nêgah Santos and bassist Ivan Taylor. Trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr, Rhodes organist Anastassiya Petrova and bassist Jahmal Nichols all join for one track each.

“When we came out from the pandemic we weren’t allowed to be broken,” Lakecia shares while describing the deeply personal outing Phoenix became for her. The record presents mostly original compositions written throughout the seasons: “we had to be these beautiful absorbent birds and get to work. I wanted to highlight each month of that.” By design, the compositions on Phoenix are written around the skillsets of her triumphant guests, a handful of women in jazz who have had prominent influences on Lakecia.

Sirens herald the start of the record on “Amerikkan Skin”, featuring American political activist Angela Davis as a guest. “New Mornings” was composed at the height of the summer: “it was burning up in New York and I felt I was going through the same day over and over again,” says Lakecia, “but the only thing that reverberated or changed was the level of sadness I kept getting every time I woke up. I’d spend my time dreaming of different mornings in new times.”

Title track “Phoenix” features Georgia Anne Muldrow on synths. “For me, that was the period when I decided I had to find a new way. I figured I start with this track, trying to highlight that we’re coming out of this dark period and get on the dance floor,” Lakecia adds. The track “Mercy” features vocal megastar Dianne Reeves, who digs deep into the song’s message of kindness with her signature soothing vocal quality. Lakecia highlights pianist Patrice Rushen’s multi-genre aptitude with “Jubilation”, honoring an artist who teaches other women how to rise up to an immense degree.

Tracks six and seven flow as a unit; the first part is a Haiku by poet Sonia Sanchez and the Benjamin-original “Blast” features Sanchez again. “Moods” has a more traditional jazz and harder-hitting vibe, while “Rebirth” was composed as a personal tribute to Lakecia’s family who experienced several losses: “this is on the slower side, but it picks up at the end and has a more joyous feel.” ”Trane”, an ode to Alice and John Coltrane, also nods to Lakecia’s previous project. “Basquiat” is a suite inspired by the neo-expressionist artist and is preceded by a message from jazz giant Wayne Shorter. “He’s the ultimate guru,” says Lakecia, “it’s almost like he’s looking into your soul and only souls matter here.”

“I wanted people to not only feel what I’m saying through the songs and my saxophone, but to also verbally hear it so there’s no discrepancy on where we’re coming from,” Lakecia shares, explaining the concept behind her album which is imbued with spoken word. And there is no question that Phoenix marks yet another stratospheric rise for an artist who resolutely knows what she wants to say and how to say it, all the while honoring her mentors and the traditions that have come before her.

Pursuance: The Coltranes
Release date: March 27, 2020
Label: Ropeadope Records

A cohesive walk through the lineage of the jazz artform, Benjamin’s third full-length release as a leader pays homage to two of the greatest musical innovators of the 20th century, John and Alice Coltrane. As Abiodun Oyewole iterates as part of Benjamin’s rendition of Coltrane’s classic “Acknowledgment” off of the groundbreaking album ‘A Love Supreme’, “John Coltrane was a vessel, taking us to the house of god, he spoke to god in the language god knew, in the language of sound.” With this release, Benjamin opens herself up as such a vessel, speaking timeless truths through her horn over the medium of Coltrane’s classic compositions alongside elders of this artform who bore witness to the conception of this material. Under the tutelage of jazz luminary and co-producer Reggie Workman whose supple bass lines underscored countless Alice and John Coltrane’s recordings, Benjamin has assembled an astonishing cross-generational ensemble of over 40 jazz heavyweights that includes Ron Carter, Gary Bartz, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Meshell Ndgecello, Steve Wilson, Marc Cary, Keyon Harrold, Marcus Strickland, Brandee Younger and Jazzmeia Horn -- Three generations of musical titans gathered to celebrate and further the message of the great maestros of this improvisational artform, John and Alice Coltrane.

There’s always been an undeniable mystical, enticing element to the music of the Coltranes and on Pursuance, Benjamin is mindful of retaining the underlying spirituality of these compositions - “they were writing songs to indian gods, to christian gods, to muslim gods - their whole idealogy was that every religion is one and we’re all one with god.” In this regard, Pursuance speaks to the unifying nature of the jazz artform. Every member of this cross-generational recording ensemble welcomed the opportunity to collaborate and pay homage to each other. “Music is a reflection of our times; a reflection of the spirit of our times,” Benjamin continues. “In our current social and political climate, we need music to heal the soul.” Just as the timeless compositions of the Coltranes connected with audiences of yesteryear, Pursuance brings this material into 2020 with carefully conceived modern arrangements. Each of the thirteen tracks on Pursuance are tunes that instantly resonated with Benjamin upon first listen - seven of which originally composed by John, with six credited to Alice. The selection includes “Liberia”, “Prema”, “Central Park West”, “Walk With Me”, “Going Home”, “Syeeda’s Song Flute”, “Spiral”, “Om Shanti”, “Alabama”, “Acknowledgement”, “Pursuance”, “Turiya and Ramakrishna” and “Affinity”.

Read more in the full press release here.

JEROME WILSON
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"There are a lot of musicians and a lot of different musical approaches on this album but the powerful alto voice of Lakecia Benjamin holds it all together. She plays with appropriate majesty whether moaning over soulful beats or roaring in high energy duels with other alto players, like Gary Bartz on "Liberia" and both Greg Osby and Bruce Williams on "Affinity." This is an amazing and ambitious tribute to the long-lasting influence of John and Alice Coltrane."Read the full feature here.