Lakecia Benjamin Keeps the Flame Burnin’
Photo: Elizabeth Leitzell
On her upcoming album, We Dream, Lakecia Benjamin assembled a top-tier group of collaborators to inspire hope, movement, and a collective spirit. Before her SFJAZZ UpSwing performance, the saxophonist discussed a record created to uplift people and a live show aimed at helping them feel the room's energy.
Listen to the full conversation with Lakecia Benjamin below.
Lakecia Benjamin discussed her new album, We Dream, as both an artistic and social statement. The record will be released on June 5 and features a diverse group of artists, including Hiromi, Chris Potter, Terence Blanchard, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Bilal, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and Kassa Overall. Benjamin’s approach to this project was driven by a simple belief: music can still bring light into tough situations.
“I’ve always believed that music should be a bright light in that place,” she says. “So, I kind of wanted to gather my own Avengers team of positivity.”
That image says a lot about We Dream. Benjamin gives the album a communal feel. The guest list has star power, but the deeper idea is about shared purpose. In the press materials for the record, she calls the project a response to “the state of the world,” and that language runs through the music as both urgency and invitation. Benjamin isn't interested in escape just for its own sake. She seeks motion, energy, uplift, and a sense of human connection strong enough to push through the noise around us.
A Collective Statement
Benjamin’s explanation of the title clarifies the album's focus. We Dream, she says, can mean many things to many people. It can point toward “a better world,” toward hope, toward memory, toward the stubborn act of imagining something more generous than the present tense usually allows. She keeps returning to the importance of holding onto that dream.
The album’s collaborative structure naturally stems from that idea. Benjamin has long favored feature-heavy projects, but here the guest artists feel more like participants in a collective effort. She discusses music as a communal practice and as a form of service. “It’s easy to kind of wanna be a rock star,” she says. “It’s hard to kind of wanna serve.”
That line hits at the heart of the record. Benjamin wants the album to radiate personality, but she also aims for it to reveal character. When she describes the musicians she brought into the project, she emphasizes their innovation, stage presence, and the power of their sound. She also highlights how they move through the world: their educational work, mentorship, leadership, and the example they set. She selected artists who reshape music and take greater responsibility for their work.
That gives We Dream a broader perspective. The album continues the exploratory spirit of Phoenix and the breakthrough it brought her, yet it feels more outward-looking. Benjamin writes with conviction here, with the confidence of an artist who knows exactly what she wants the music to achieve.
The Heat of “Flamekeeper”
That mission comes through clearly in “Flamekeeper,” the new single featuring Hiromi and Chris Potter. Benjamin says she writes with her guests in mind, and this piece developed from what she most admires in both musicians: energy, fearlessness, and the ability to push music forward at full speed. “I wanted something that was fun,” she says, “that people can kind of be upbeat,” but she also wanted the track to “bring that warrior spirit.”
That mixture of joy and intensity gives the tune its energy. Benjamin sees Hiromi as a musician of remarkable skill and explosive stage presence; someone whose commanding piano playing opens up new possibilities in the room. “Her skillset on the piano is just unfathomable,” she says. With Potter, she highlights the full package: “…his technique, his phrasing, his sense of time,” delivered with the relaxed confidence that has made him such a commanding presence across different settings.
Most revealing is Benjamin's description of the session itself. “During the whole session, while we’re recording, they were pushing me into the stratosphere to be better on my own song.”
That is a beautiful sentence because it captures the album’s ethic in miniature. We Dream is filled with guests, but its deepest current is mutual elevation. The music features personalities strong enough to challenge each other, and Benjamin clearly relishes that pressure. It sharpens the performance. It raises the stakes. It turns collaboration into propulsion.
An UpSwing Set Built for the Room
Benjamin brings that same energy to the stage, and her upcoming SFJAZZ appearance on March 28 should give a vivid preview of how these ideas come to life in performance. Her set, part of Terence Blanchard’s UpSwing series and paired with the Pasquale Grasso Trio, will feature Oscar Pérez on piano, Elias Bailey on bass, and Quentin Baxter on drums.
She laughs when asked what audiences can expect. “My usual shenanigans,” she says. The phrase is playful, but the promise is serious. Benjamin wants the room to come alive. She wants people to move, listen, and feel the band’s full energy. “We’ll be pumped up and playing hard,” she says, aiming to create a space where “if you wanna dance, you can dance. If you wanna have a good time, you can have a good time.”
That feeling of release is important to her. Benjamin says she gives her all when she performs and strives to create such a welcoming environment that the audience can “forget everything going on with life” and, for a while, “get lost in the music.”
That may be the clearest way to understand both We Dream and the live show it points toward. Benjamin is creating music that reaches outward. It carries a message and momentum. It honors virtuosity, then places that virtuosity in the service of feeling, community, and renewal. At SFJAZZ, listeners will experience a bandleader bringing those ideas into the space with full force, keeping the flame alive and inviting the audience to step inside it.
Listen to our 2025 interview with Lakecia Benjamin here.
