Lakecia Benjamin: We Dream

In a genre full of peaceniks, Lakecia Benjamin is a killer.

Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, has exploded over the course of the 2020's—both figuratively and musically. Her sound is brash and resonant, yet delicately composed and precisely structured. Benjamin is a focused musician, with all of her artistic choices brimming with intent, and the results are positively thrilling. She has become one of contemporary jazz's most popular and revered alto saxophonists, and she is just getting started.

Already one of 2026's best albums, Benjamin's album We Dream is an outburst of immediacy. Vital and exigent, the album is very much of its time, reflecting the turmoil of the modern world but thankfully also keeping the door open for hope to creep through the chaos. Benjamin blends an exciting mélange of different genre elements—hip-hop, soul, gospel, R&B, and electro-pop, among others—but keeps the different components within the margins of contemporary jazz, so as not to stray off-center.

Leading an album as distinctly progressive as We Dream does not stop Benjamin from showcasing established veteran masters, including guests Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), Terence Blanchard (trumpet), and Chris Potter (saxophone), as well as the younger, like-minded Hiromi (piano), and Chief Xian Atunde Adjuah (trumpet). Dynamic voices Black Thought, Tarriona "Tank" Ball and Bilal provide vocal contributions, and percussionist Kassa Overall (whose 2025 Cream (Warp Records) jazzed up the Wu-Tang Clan and proved to be one of that year's most fun releases) produced the album.

We Dream blasts off with extreme intensity right from the start with the one-two punch of opener "First Light," followed quickly by "Beyond the Dawn." Both tracks feature Blanchard's trumpet.  "First Light," with Benjamin reciting spoken-word poetry in front of Blanchard, runs merely a little over a minute, but then the album immediately transitions into "Beyond the Dawn," which fully showcases Benjamin's saxophone power. Benjamin's extended solo on the track is bluesy, haunting, and breathtaking, and her backing band fills in the spaces beautifully.

Benjamin's poetic lyrics appear once again on "Ascension," and this time she effectively duets with herself as she intermixes her actual voice with her instrumental voice. Barber's drums create a driving rhythm that propels the soulful saxophone work. The track ultimately ends up as some of the most exhilarating jazz/hip-hop fusion in some time.

The album continues to swing between classicism and modernism. "Dream Breaker," the following track, returns the proceedings back to a straight-ahead sound, but nevertheless is a strong example of that tradition. "Dream Breaker" features Potter, Watts, and Jones, and the masters put on an expected clinic. Later on, Hiromi's unique brand of funk brings the energy on two tracks. "Flame Keeper," also featuring Potter again, is a playful homage to early-1980's electro-soul. The appropriately-titled "Hiromi Jam" is just that—a groovy electric keyboard exercise accompanying some smooth saxophone work.