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, out June 5, 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.

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“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; the Roots’ Black Thought; 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.

 Lakecia Benjamin website

Thank you to Lydia Liebman for sharing with us

British saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Hannah Horton presents: Stories On The Wind

Release date: May 22nd

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“Rising sax star Hannah Horton…..there’s bold and gritty playing, on both baritone and tenor sax…. – JazzWise

“Hannah is real. She is authentic. She is an artist who draws you in, engages you, inspires you and captivates you” - Jazz In Europe

British saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Hannah Horton is carving out a distinctive place on the UK jazz scene. An Official Selmer Artist and award-winning musician, she trained at the prestigious Junior Guildhall School of Music and Trinity College of Music, drawing inspiration from jazz luminaries like Mark Lockheart, Tim Garland, and Paul Bartholomew. Alongside her own career, Hannah champions the next generation of talent through ‘J Steps,’ a program supporting young musicians under 18 who identify as female or non-binary, tackling the historic gender imbalance in jazz.

Widely recognised for her dedication to honouring the legacy of legendary tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. She regularly performs Gordon’s repertoire so much so her work has earned the admiration of Gordon’s widow, Maxine Gordon, who wrote the liner notes for Horton’s upcoming album, Stories On The Wind.

"The first time I heard Hannah Horton I was reminded of something I learned from Dexter Gordon. When he encountered a musician he had never heard before, anywhere in the world we travelled, he would listen, quietly, with his eyes closed. Then he would turn to me and say, “That’s the real sound. Real music. A real musician.” And then he would smile and nod his head to the music.That was my experience when I first heard Hannah Horton at The Jazz Café – Maxine Gordon

Renowned for her emotional depth, lyrical melodies, and compelling storytelling, Hannah delivers a powerful, expressive sound across both tenor and baritone saxophones. Her forthcoming third studio album, Stories on the Wind is her most personal and ambitious project to date. Evocative and timeless, the music explores themes of memory, longing and the subtle traces of belonging that shape our lives. The album unfolds as a rich, immersive soundscape, spacious and open to interpretation, yet firmly grounded in rhythm, where soaring melodies intertwine with compelling grooves.

Recorded at Red Kite Studio with renowned engineer and producer Martin Levan (Barbara Thompson, June Tabor, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Neil Ardley), the album captures a warmth and depth of sound that perfectly reflects Hannah’s artistic vision. Her band consists of Sam Leak (piano and organ), Rob Statham (electric bass), and Steve Taylor (drums and percussion) , brings additional colour and momentum, forming a dynamic backdrop for Hannah’s expressive saxophone lines. Recent highlights include a headline performance at the EFG London Jazz Festival**,** further cementing her reputation as a compelling live performer.

The album opens with‘Out of the Shadows’, a deeply personal composition inspired by moments when life veers off course. The piece captures that quiet, internal stirring, a sense that change is coming, and that, in time, everything will find its place.

‘Whisper’ is a lyrical baritone-led ballad dedicated to Hannah’s partner, Nick. Written in gratitude for his unwavering support during some of her most challenging times, including the loss of her father. The piece reflects intimacy, resilience and enduring connection. Having met just before lockdown, the two have been together ever since, a bond echoed in the tenderness of the music.

‘Alone’ reflects the solitude that often accompanies life as an independent artist, bandleader, booker, promoter, administrator, and everything in between. While the journey can be lonely at times, the music ultimately moves toward calm and acceptance. Its dreamy, floating ending captures a moment of release: a quiet peace found when the weight begins to lift, and letting go becomes possible.

The album ends on ‘Remembering Mr Gone’, written in response to the passing of Wayne Shorter , known as “Mr Gone”.

“This piece is shaped by the sound world I have always associated with him, particularly the colour and resonance of major seventh chords. While a full quartet version was recorded, an unplanned moment in the studio led to something more intimate. “One morning, instinct took over and we captured a stripped-back take, just baritone saxophone and piano, no rehearsal, no headphones, early in the day. When the final notes faded, there were tears in the control room, including my own”- explains Hannah.

The piece became more than a tribute to Wayne Shorter; it also transformed into a quiet act of remembrance for her father.

Being a female instrumentalist in the jazz world has never been easy, finding your voice in a historically male-dominated space demands resilience and resolve. Stories on the Wind is Hannah’s most personal statement to date: a reflection of where she stands now, both as an artist and as a person. Each composition began as a feeling, a fleeting moment, or a lived story, echoes of childhood, love and loss, hope, and the quiet strength that comes from forging your own path and finally being heard.

Hannah Horton Website click here

The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) – one of the only jazz big bands in the world comprised exclusively of Native and Indigenous people – is releasing its debut album, Incarnadine, on May 8, 2026. Led by celebrated vocalist Julie Keefe (Nez Perce), Incarnadine brings together a 16-piece ensemble to celebrate a largely unrecognized lineage of Indigenous artists in jazz, while presenting new compositions rooted in tribal histories and storytelling. Following extensive touring at major performing arts centers and jazz clubs across the country, Incarnadine offers the ensemble's first recorded statement.

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On Incarnadine, celebrated vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) leads her all-star Indigenous Big Band featuring pianist Marc Cary (Wampanoag), trumpeter Delbert Anderson (Diné), bassist Mali Obomsawin (Abanaki of Odanak), trombonist Quinn Carson (Apache/Kiowa), drummer Edward Littlefield (Lingít), and many more. “We are not culturally monolithic,” said Keefe. “We each bring with us the cultural practices of our ancestors and many of our compositions are derived from traditional melodies and stories. With Incarnadine, we dive deeper into improvisatory music from the Indigenous perspective.”

Reflecting on the album’s title, Keefe mused that “while a word from Shakespeare’s Macbeth might not immediately bring “Indigenous jazz” to mind, ‘incarnadine’ means to redden. I think in many ways, the word encapsulates the goals of this band and this album. We are shining a light on history which is fraught with bloodshed and trauma, but also celebrating the brilliance and resilience of Indigenous people who survived and thrived through the beauty of their culture, prayers, and songs. We are broadening the scope of the listener’s understanding of jazz to include Native and Indigenous jazz musicians. Some people say, ‘decolonize your mind’ and I say, ‘incarnadine your mind.”

The album features music made famous by Indigenous jazz musicians from the Twentieth Century such as Mildred Bailey (Coeur d’Alene) and Jim Pepper (Kaw/Mvskoke) but also amplifies new works from musicians within the band’s ranks. Mali Obomsawin’s “Wawasint8da” is a haunting exploration of a Catholic hymn that was translated into the Abanaki language by an early French Jesuit missionary. DDAT Suite by Delbert Anderson pays homage to his tribal lands, commemorates Diné code talkers, and tells the story of an overnight train ride from Gallup, NM to Los Angeles. Keefe’s composition “Sonnet” was inspired by the poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. To quote the late Jim Pepper, “you can’t generalize about Indian music, it’s too diverse.”

“Incarnadine is musical commentary on our Indigeneity and resilience against the generational impacts of colonial powers upon the indigenous peoples of the Americas,” Keefe said. “Incarnadine offers musical history, protest, and celebration all wrapped up in one album.”

Incarnadine was recorded through the support of The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross.

About Julia Keefe:

Heralded by the New York Times as "a songbird of a jazz vocalist," Julia Keefe is an internationally acclaimed Native American singer, actor, educator, and director of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, her flagship project celebrating the diversity and vitality of Indigenous people in jazz. Her professional career has spanned over two decades, and she has headlined marquee events at the John F. Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., as well as opened for the likes of 20-time GRAMMY Award winner Tony Bennett and 5-time GRAMMY Award winner Esperanza Spalding. Her life’s work is the revival and honoring of legendary Coeur d’Alene jazz musician Mildred Bailey. Julia earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in jazz vocal performance from the University of Miami and Manhattan School of Music respectively, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

 Julia Keefe website

Thank you to Lydia Liebman for sharing with us

Pianist/composer Yvonne Rogers draws inspiration from her magical childhood in rural Maine for her mesmerizing new solo album. The Button Jar, due out May 8, 2026 via Pyroclastic Records, features 14 miniatures conjuring the beauty and mystery of the natural world through the interplay of whimsy and rigor.

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Growing up in rural Maine without the distraction of even a television, Yvonne Rogers often found herself alone with nothing but her imagination and the natural world around her for inspiration. Now based in the very different environs of Brooklyn, where she is rapidly emerging as a vibrant new voice on the progressive jazz scene, the pianist and composer often finds herself drawing on those early years to guide her distinctive musical approach.

One image that often returns to Rogers’ mind’s eye is the button jar that her artist mother kept for craft projects – a stockpile of mundane but multi-hued items that could be reimagined into endless creative permutations. “It felt like a jar of possibilities,” Rogers says. “You could use it for any number of projects, but you had to know how to properly sew the button on, so it became a balance of whimsical fun and meticulous craftsmanship.”

That notion became a guiding principle for The Button Jar, Rogers’ captivating new solo piano album. Scheduled for release on May 8, 2026 via Pyroclastic Records, the album provides an entrancing introduction to Rogers’ singular sound, a deeply personal weave of play and rigor that marshals childlike wonder in service of a complex and intricate use of rhythm and harmony.

The sense of play that thrives in the music of The Button Jar can be traced to the music’s origins – a series of short explorations that Rogers posted to social media, never intending them to have a life beyond that disposable medium. It was only at the urging of Pyroclastic founder Kris Davis that Rogers considered revisiting and developing these brief ideas into full-fledged solo compositions.

Davis had become a mentor to Rogers after the two met through Focusyear Basel in Switzerland, where Davis served as one of the instructors for the yearlong international ensemble program. Davis not only encouraged Rogers to record for her label, but produced the album and suggested a solo outing, which came as a surprise, as Rogers’ work to date had been wholly focused on ensemble playing. Her 2023 debut Seeds featured a quartet of peers, and she is a member of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock’s next-generation band Lilith and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill’s quartet Elephant. Rogers also leads her own quartet, which recently received a commission from the venerable NYC performance space Roulette.

“I was immediately struck by Yvonne’s playing,” Davis recalls. “Since the program, I’ve continued to follow her work and have been especially impressed by the solo piano videos she regularly shares on Instagram. She has a unique and personal harmonic and melodic language. I wanted to give her the opportunity to dive deeper into her solo piano approach, so I invited her to record an album for Pyroclastic Records. This is my first time producing an album for another artist on Pyroclastic, and I felt she would be the perfect young artist to uplift and collaborate with.”

The Button Jar casts a spell from the outset, as the gradually evolving rhythms of “Luster” resonate as both pristine and mysterious, contrasted immediately by the evasive angularity of the title track. The chordal density of “Monkey’s Fist” is worlds away from the lilting joy of “Little Dance,” itself distinct from the gentle swing feel of “Puzzle Building.” The pendulum swings from the aching, delicate slowness of “Thread the Needle” to the lively, buoyant dance of “Linear Gel,” its title an anagram for one of Rogers’ formative influences, the great Geri Allen. In addition to Rogers’ compositions, there are three freely improvised pieces: “Avid Risks,” a dedication to (and anagram of) Kris Davis; “The Craft Room” and album closer “Exhale,” a stark release captured at the end of the recording session reflecting on the day’s range of expression.

In a sense, Rogers’ music is a vehicle to recreate the vast imaginative possibilities that her unique upbringing provided. “I grew up in the woods in the middle of nowhere, so I had a very special relationship to nature,” she recalls. “You sense that the world goes on without you, so the problems in your head don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I want my music to do that for other people – to create a space for them to experience this feeling of wonder so that they can get out of their head for a few minutes.”

Yvonne Rogers is a pianist, composer, and multimedia artist from Maine, now based in Brooklyn, New York. Described as a “Fresh, new voice on piano,” (Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective), she is in demand as both a sideperson and bandleader, having performed with artists including Ralph Alessi, Linda May Han Oh, Ingrid Laubrock, Harish Raghavan, Sara Serpa, and more. Rogers is a 2024 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee, a grant recognizing outstanding women in jazz founded by Terri Lyne Carrington and facilitated by New Music USA. She was a member of the 2021/2022 Focusyear Band in Basel, Switzerland, where she performed with jazz masters including Kris Davis, Sullivan Fortner, Tineke Postma, Jorge Rossy, Larry Grenadier, Lionel Loueke, Chris Cheek, Elena Pinderhughes, Miguel Zenón, and more. Currently Yvonne performs with Ingrid Laubrock’s Lilith and Adam O'Farrill’s Elephant, as well as leading her own quartet. Her debut album Seeds was released in 2023 on Relative Pitch Records.

Thank you to Braithwaite & Katz for sharing with us

Yvonne Rogers website click here

April Records proudly presents the new album from Danish trombonist and composer Lis Wessberg. Her most personal album to date, In The Wake of Blue is a song-driven work exploring transience, love, and transformation. Expanding her writing while remaining rooted in her distinctive instrumental voice, Wessberg creates an intimate musical landscape where lyric, melody, and texture carry equal weight.

In The Wake of Blue is set for release on April 17th, 2026 via April Records.

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Wessberg has established herself as a leading voice on the European jazz scene through her band Yellow Map and a series of acclaimed releases on April Records. Her previous album, Twain Walking (2024), marked her first step into English-language songwriting and earned a Danish Music Award nomination in 2025 for the track Behind the Walls. In The Wake of Blue develops this direction further. The album draws on images from nature - sea, tides, clouds, mist, and birds - used as emotional anchors rather than abstractions. These elements frame songs that move from uncertainty and loss toward openness, connection, and renewal. The title reflects this arc: “blue” as melancholy, depth, and memory, and what emerges in its wake.

Vocalist Veronika Rud is central to the album’s sound, bringing vulnerability and clarity to the songs. Rather than a traditional singer-led project, the music unfolds as a dialogue between voice and trombone, with Wessberg’s warm, airy tone mirroring and extending each song’s emotional core. At times the two move in close unison; elsewhere, they diverge and reconnect. The core ensemble - Steen Rasmussen (piano and keys), Lennart Ginman (bass), and Jeppe Gram (drums) - provides a responsive, understated foundation, while string quartet Live Strings appear on two tracks, expanding the ensemble’s depth and resonance. In The Wake of Blue offers a quietly assured statement from an artist continuing to refine a voice that speaks as clearly through brass as it does through words.

All Compositions and Arrangements by Lis Wessberg Published by April Publishing ApS

The first thing that comes to mind is a soundtrack to someone riding through the dunes on a beach at night, somewhere in Denmark. Or the feeling of being at the circus, marveling at all the magical things happening in the ring. Swaying above the clouds, light as a feather. Warm, friendly skies everywhere you look. Liquid sounds all over. Lis Wessberg’s trombone caresses your ears smoothly, but there is always a hot temper waiting to get out of the cage. The music takes you to a dreamy landscape filled with poetry and love – both in words and music. Veronika Rud delivers the very emotion of every song, and Lis says the exact same thing, but through her trombone.

We all long for a life filled with love and devotion. Veronika not only delivers the meaning of each song. She is the song, with Lis embracing every mood with her airy trombone. It feels like floating on air, letting us float along. Or like wandering through a mystical landscape, maybe a walk on a beach in the middle of a warm summer night. The waves slowly move us to sleep. Or like two birds in free flight, the voices of Lis and Veronika in perfect synchronization until Veronika takes a detour, letting her voice speak freely until Lis takes over with her airy voice – the trombone. The ending is like two lovebirds landing on a wire. Long live love. Long live music. Nils Landgren,Fellow musician and friend

Lis Wessberg website click here

Thank you to Jazz Fuel for sharing with us

Fearless is the captivating new album by Italian jazz singer Diana Torti, set for release on April 10, 2026 (Tambora Music).

Diana Torti on Bandcamp here

Listen/buy the first single Hawk's Hills here

Listen/buy the second single Montmartre Café here

Diana Torti is an internationally acclaimed performer, vocalist, and improviser, who’s deeply personal and inspired vision brings artistry and authenticity to the forefront. Her music explores intimate, versatile, and intense sound worlds, where improvisation is embraced as an expressive possibility beyond stylistic boundaries. Following the critical success of her albums On a Cloud (named among the best vocal jazz releases of 2019 by TNYCJR and Jazz Views) and It’s All We Have (2023) - both recorded as a duo with composer and guitarist Sabino de Bari, Torti now with her quartet, presents Fearless as both lyricist and interpreter. Featuring stunning original compositions by de Bari, along with a new and refreshing interpretation of Santamaria’s ‘Afro Blue’.

Through years of collaboration and musical explorations, the two artists have developed a distinctive sound, blending jazz, classical, and contemporary influences into a soundscape that is poetic, visionary, and surprising. Their music draws inspiration from Mediterranean culture and beyond, shaped by rich harmonies, refined melodies, and a broad palette of timbres.

At its core Fearless is inspired by the courage to express ourselves authentically, valuing our uniqueness and originality, in a contemporary world often shaped by stereotypes, imposed rules, and trends aligned with economic and cultural pressures that threaten individuality and freedom of expression. The album’s themes, mostly rooted in nature, humanity, and the outside world, are imbued with hope and the certainty that it is possible for everyone to “break the spell” and start to fly: like a hawk that transforms its limitations into driving force and vitality (The Hawk’s Hills); intimate landscapes reflecting our inner world and reclaiming the fullness of our connection with nature (Secret Places) and magical glimpses that have hosted revolutionary artistic creation despite cultural constraints (Montmartre Café).

Torti’s poetic writing traces the infinite dialectic contrasts of life, rendered as a magical and at times dazzling journey in Ups and Downs. The album also includes a new, darker and more minimal version of Whisky, a piece inspired by early blues lyrics and previously recorded by the artist. The recording closes with a striking interpretation of Afro Blue (Mongo Santamaria), where the original African-American roots of the piece metaphorically overlook the Mediterranean, revealing subtle cultural connections. Torti’s vocal melismas intertwine with de Bari’s fretless guitar in a fluid, dance-like dialogue. Diana’s voice and Sabino’s guitar are joined by outstanding Italian musicians, Andrea Colella (double bass) and Francesco De Rubeis, (drums), whose sensitivity and musicality enrich the album’s expressive depth.

The official album launch will take place on April 10, 2026, with a live performance at Arciliuto Jazz Club in Rome (Italy).

All tracks composed by Sabino de Bari except track 7 (music by Mongo Santamaria). All lyrics by Diana Torti, except track 7 (Oscar Brown Jr.) and track 3 (Sabino de Bari).

Diana Torti: vocals Sabino de Bari: classical guitar, fretless guitar Andrea Colella: double bass Francesco De Rubeis: percussions, drums

Recorded and mixed at La Strada Studios in Rome (Italy) in October 2024. Except for vocals and guitar solo on track 7, recorded at Westpoint Studios in London (UK) and mixed by Sabino de Bari in October 2025. Mastered by Sabino de Bari.

Photo by Monika S. Jakubowska Graphics by Antonella Zurzolo

Diana Torti website click here