Zaccai - Sonoluminescence, Vol. 1 (2026)

Tracklist

01. Joust
02. Last Call
03. A Patient Resolve
04. Message
05. I Want to Feel the Way You Move
06. Mayci's Dream
07. Wellspring
08. Sonoluminescence

Zaccai Curtis – Piano, Rhodes, Yamaha Keyboards, Vocals; Craig Handy – Tenor Sax & Flute; Joe Dyson – Drums; Brevan Hampden – Congas & Percussion; Luques Curtis – Bass (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7); Mike Boone – Bass (tracks 4, 5, 6, 8); Aurelien Budynek – Guitars (track 4); Julie Acosta – Vocals (track 8)

Zaccai Curtis could easily have followed the path laid out by Cubop Lives!, the album that earned him the 2025 GRAMMY Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. Instead, Sonoluminescence Vol. 1 turns in a different direction. The Afro-Caribbean pulse is still unmistakably his, but now it’s surrounded by Rhodes, funk, electric bass and grooves built from one rhythmic layer settling over another.

Percussion is everywhere. It taps, shuffles and pulses beneath nearly every tune, while the bass keeps the music moving with one infectious groove after another. Above it all, Curtis changes the music’s color simply by moving from Rhodes to acoustic piano, and the music never stops breathing.

That’s already apparent on “Joust.” Rhodes sets down both melody and the groove while percussion works behind it and the electric bass sets down a cool funk beat. Craig Handy’s tenor saxophone enters with short, perfectly placed phrases, spending most of its time in the middle register before reaching for the high notes. Curtis answers by digging deeper into the Rhodes, as if saying, “This is my groove.” It’d be hard not to want to dance to this.

Some of the tunes have been around for a while. “A Patient Resolve,” written in 2006, practically smiles from the opening notes. Curtis sings in his warm mid-range voice, urging everyone to hold it together — a plea, not a lecture. His acoustic piano feels more human. Handy’s flute brightens the Latin groove underneath him, lifting the whole tune without ever forcing it.

You can almost feel the drumsticks bouncing off the heads on “Message.” The rhythm is that physical. A repeating bass line keeps everything anchored while the guitar plays at the edges, sounding as though it’s ready to shred, though it quietly folds itself back into the band instead. Curtis is pushing phrases that complement what the drums and guitar are doing, turning it over a little differently each time.

One of the pleasures of the album is hearing Curtis move between acoustic piano and Rhodes. Sometimes the piano floats above the rhythm while the Rhodes becomes part of the percussion itself. On “I Want to Feel the Way You Move” those ringing keyboard tones seem to dance alongside the congas rather than accompany them. “Mayci’s Dream” finds the Rhodes striking harder, letting notes bloom and fade while the percussion keeps nudging the music forward. Even “Wellspring,” one of the album’s more straight-ahead moments, lets the rhythm swell up until it nearly overtakes Handy’s post-bop lines, before pulling back to let the acoustic piano repeat a simple phrase under floating electronics.

Sonoluminescence is real. It’s the emission of light created by sound waves moving through liquid. For Curtis, it’s a fitting metaphor — sound that becomes light, feeling that comes from vibration alone. Piano and tenor weave around one another, light percussion tapping underneath. Julie Acosta’s late entrance feels less like a featured vocal than another color added to the canvas. Curtis closes the album the same way he opens it — with movement and warmth — but now there’s a quiet glow surrounding everything. That’s the real achievement of Sonoluminescence Vol. 1. You end up inside the groove before you notice you’ve moved.