Lakecia Benjamin: We Dream

She is one of the leading figures of contemporary jazz. Her music blends funk, soul, and hip-hop with the retro movement of the moment: spiritual jazz. She had already dedicated one of her most recent albums to this genre in the form of a tribute to John and Alice Coltrane. Lakecia Benjamin’s music can be described as a high-energy variation of this meditative subgenre. She herself views her expansive playing as a kind of healing musical practice. A sentiment she expressed to DownBeat Magazine: “Every note I play touches someone on a deeper level.” At the BASF Feierabendhaus, the six-time Grammy-nominated saxophonist presents her latest album, “We Dream.” Engaged and full of emotional devotion to the moment, she stages her music as an empathetic dialogue with the audience. She has a simple explanation for why this works so perfectly and captivatingly: “I don’t play anything that doesn’t tell a story.”