Do you own a CD player? Have you bought an album on compact disc in recent months? If so, you might be in the vanguard of a small cultural wave. Or maybe it’s a ripple, but a spate of articles and Reddit threads assert that CDs are making a comeback as a music format. In 2024, CD sales modestly increased, accounting for $541 million, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Whether driven by Gen X nostalgia, Gen Z novelty, or the power of a handful of uber-stars to move merchandise (mazel tov on your impending nuptials, Taylor Swift), this is good news. Though much less sexy than vinyl, which continues a nearly two-decade resurgence to some $1.4 billion in 2024 revenue, per the RIAA, CDs are easier and cheaper to make and more convenient to bring to gigs. And as musicians continue to invest in the production of albums, even small batches of 250 or 500 can help subsidize projects.
And anything that benefits Bay Area artists — like those listed below — can’t be bad. Here are the releases that caught my ear this year and wouldn’t let go.
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids “Artistic Being” (Strut Records): San Francisco saxophonist, composer and Afro-futurist bandleader Idris Ackamoor is in the midst of a late-career burst of activity, and his latest album “Artistic Being” captures a particularly ambitious evening. Presented as part of Underground Jazz Cabaret at The Lab in San Francisco, “Artistic Being” features narratives by Danny Glover and Rhodessa Jones (Ackamoor’s longtime creative partner in the theatrical group Cultural Odyssey), and an orchestrally expanded version of The Pyramids performing a richly textured score that comments on the drama and emotion of the stories at hand.
Electric Squeezebox Orchestra “A Piece of the Action” (Jekab’s Music): While the music was recorded back in 2017 and ’18, the nine tracks on the latest album by the 17-piece Electric Squeezebox Orchestra feels as fresh as tomorrow’s dawn. The ensemble’s fourth release showcases its deep bench of composers and arrangers, including two originals by tenor saxophonist Mike Zilber and trumpeter Erik Jekabson, who leads the group. Bristling with interesting ideas, with arresting solos and expert ensemble work, the ESO has honed a beautiful, bountiful sound all its own.
Roger Glenn “My Latin Heart” (Patois Records): Roger Glenn earned a Grammy Award on flute with vibraphonist Cal Tjader, played vibes with flautist Herbie Mann, and recorded a classic album with Cuban percussion maestro Mongo Santamaria. Yet somehow “My Latin Heart” is only his second album under his own name, following up a half-century after his 1976 debut “Reachin’.” More than worth the wait, it showcases his dazzling multi-instrumental prowess and his animating passion for Afro-Caribbean (and Afro-Brazilian) rhythms.
Richard Howell and the Joy Protocol Ensemble “Our Purpose” (Ponoma Sunrise Records): Saxophonist Richard Howell, known as a brawny improviser with an impressively far-ranging body of work, shows another side with “Our Purpose,” which features his sweet soul crooning along with his eloquent tenor and soprano sax work. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, he addresses pressing issues of the day with deep grooves and ravishing melodic flights created with an all-star cast, including pianist Frank Martin, violinist Jenny Scheinman, and his son, drummer Elé Howell.
“Breakthrough” Erik Jekabson (Wide Hive Records): A sumptuous orchestral jazz session marked by extended, beguiling melodies, “Breakthrough” lives up to its titular billing. El Cerrito trumpeter Erik Jekabson has long served as something of a house arranger/composer for Wide Hive Records and his latest release for the Berkeley label features his confident integration of brass, reeds and strings on illustrative themes full of supple movement, drama and flirtations with ecstasy.
Joshua Redman “Words Fall Short” (Blue Note): Berkeley saxophonist Joshua Redman is not in a celebratory mood, but he’s found a brilliant cadre of young players to join his musing on the baleful state of world. Featuring bassist Philip Norris, drummer Nazir Ebo, and pianist Paul Cornish, Redman wends his way through eight original pieces that seem to transpose sadness and dismay into amber-distilled beads of burnished beauty.
Beth Schenck Quintet “Dahlia” (Queen Bee Records): Beth Schenck is a savvy composer, but what stands out most on “Dahlia” is her alto saxophone’s lithe, luminous tone. With Cory Wright on tenor sax and bass clarinet, guitarist Matt Wrobel, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and drummer Jordan Glenn, the session toggles between emotional abandon and simmering introspection.
Sarah Wilson “Incandescence” (Brass Tonic Records): Trumpeter Sarah Wilson delivers a program of defiantly buoyant music largely inspired by dance floor delight. Joined by a stellar cast including alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen, trombonist Mara Fox, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and guitarist John Schott, she gives them ample space to display their polyrhythmic moves before providing stomping commentary of her own.
Honorable mention
Here are another 10 more Bay Area-rooted albums well worth checking out.
Actual Trio, “Spires” (Tzadik Records) All Things Swamp, “Dressed” (Little Village) Green Mitchell Trio “Nature Channel” (Queen Bee Records) Kitka “Kolo” (Diaphonica) Myra Melford “Splash” (Intakt Records) Mason Razavi “Even Keel” (Point Shot Music) Nashville Honeymoon “Sidewinder” (Lynk) “Salsa de la Bahia: Renegade Queens” (Patois Music) John Santos Sextet & Friends “Horizontes” (Machete Records) Sifter “Flake/Fracture” (Queen Bee Records)
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