Lakecia Benjamin – We Dream [CD]

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 Prez 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 including: trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah; saxophonist Chris Potter; drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts; pianist Hiromi; the Roots’ Black Thought; vocalists Bilal and Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas; and drummer and producer Kassa Overall. After years working with artists including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Prince, Missy Elliott, Anita Baker, Gregory Porter, Kool & the Gang, and The Roots, We Dream arrives after a period of heightened visibility for Benjamin and unfolds as a cinematic, poem-driven journey.