During his music career, Jacob Acosta has crisscrossed genres from shoegaze to pop and back to folk and Americana.
His group’s newest album “Saint Corazón” falls within the “ZonaFolk” and pop realms. The Jacob Acosta Band will celebrate the release of their latest album on Friday, Sept. 13, at Club Congress.
Local Tucson artist Gabrielle Pietrangelo will open the show with her trio.
“It’s a mix of some of that western, some of that Latin, some of the rock, some of the pop. You even get these island elements in the music, too,” Acosta said.
On “Saint Corazón,” he explores a range of topics, some more personal and some broader in nature.
“I’m accessing more storytelling, not just talking about Arizona but talking about relationships, talking about the societal stuff going on in our world and the backdrop of the Southwest, what it feels like,” Acosta said.
He hopes that his music resonates with listeners in a personal way.
“To be drawn to something that talks to you, speaks to you, that’s really what I hope to create when I write music,” Acosta said.
A 30-year Arizona resident, Acosta has resided in Tucson for over a decade. He has also resided in New Jersey and the San Francisco Bay area.
Along with his current band, he has worked with groups such as Mason, Roll Acosta and Race You There. The artist studied classical guitar at the Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona. He worked for six years as a jazz saxophonist before he started playing the guitar and singing in 2003.
“I still play Chopin and Beethoven every once in a while, when I’m driven,” said Acosta, who plays piano, too.
“I figured out that if you can spend some time with an instrument, you can try to figure out how it works and be inquisitive and curious. There’s such a beauty in playing different instruments… I’ve always found such a joy in learning other instruments, and that gives you an ability to color things.”
Acosta’s resume also includes jingles for companies such as FOX, ESPN and Ford. He’s taught classical guitar and piano for 11 years.
Acosta’s music has been played on National Public Radio, and he has performed around the country.
Passionate songwriter
Acosta and his bandmates — violinist Courtney Pinski and bassist Barry Young — recorded “Saint Corazón” at Tucson’s Waterworks Studios in July 2021.
“We actually recorded this live. There were a couple of overdubs. I think I did one vocal overdub and one solo overdub, but there’s a lot of stuff that happens live on this album,” Acosta said.
“When you listen to it, you don’t really think that. It feels like there is that live breath there, but it’s mixed like a studio album…. That used to be a thing back in the ’60s. Older bands would go cut an album in a weekend. That’s pretty much what we did. The last two albums I’ve done are that way. I have a lot of pride in live performance. I think that’s where you really see the skill of the performers, and I’ve always, as a performer, tried to be someone who can do that.”
Acosta, Young, Andre Gressieux and Bob Hoag also added additional percussion and production tracks in April 2024 at Flying Blanket Recording in Mesa. Gressieux will join the band during the album release.
Hoag, who mixed the album, also worked on Acosta’s previous records “For the People By the People,” “Silver Lining” and “Desert Sounds.” Pinski also played on his album “Desert Sounds.”
With the album, Acosta and his collaborators experimented with different sounds. For example, on the western-inspired “Night Rider,” Hoag used a bullwhip.
“I try to incorporate things that are happening in real time. He would come to the studio every day to practice a bullwhip, making all the neighbors crazy around him. He was, I guess, getting trained by the guy who does the Renaissance festivals,” Acosta said.
Acosta wrote the “Saint Corazón” songs alone, but the other artists helped shape them. He said he orchestrated most of his last album, and this new collection is more collaborative.
“I did write a majority of it, but there are some really cool things you’re going to hear if you listen to this album. For example, when we wrote ‘Maria,’ the first track, I wrote one solo for that song. Courtney took the reins and wrote more…. I started to see when she really came into her own as a lead player,” Acosta said.
The musicians he worked with also added elements such as fiddle parts, solos and percussive sounds.
Acosta said although entertaining is something he loves to do, songwriting is his biggest passion.
“I enjoy writing the songs. I enjoy figuring out what the story is going to be or what I’m going to say,” Acosta said.
Acosta was inspired by the Southwest and stories and songs from the Sonoran culture. The main character, Saint Corazón, is driven to do good deeds and spread goodwill.
“Saint Corazón is an anomaly,” Acosta said.
“It’s very rare, because there’s so much that happened randomly to make it all come together, but the title of this album came from spreading love and goodwill wherever you go through music, deeds, presents, attitude, energy. That’s what I wanted to permeate through this album was a joyfulness.”
Andrea Mendola, an artist and teacher at the Drawing Studio, created the album cover art, which features the Saint Corazón character and colors inspired by the Sonoran desert.
The album features nine tracks, including local favorites such as “Maria,” “Honest Everyday” and “Too Many Words,” ballads such as “San Pedro” and “Laredo” and more cinematic tunes such as “Twenty-First Century,” “Person of Interest” and “Night Rider.”
Acosta performs throughout Arizona; during a recent week, he did shows in Pinetop, Phoenix and Tucson. He said that being open to different types of events, gearing his shows toward the venues and bringing different skill sets allows him to get work as a full-time musician.
“I sing a lot of styles of music. I don’t just sing my own stuff. I’ll sing in other genres. I can sing in other languages. I also sing in French, Italian and Spanish,” Acosta said.
Jacob Acosta Band Album Release Party for “Saint Corazón”
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13
WHERE: Club Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: $18 in advance, $22 day of show
INFO: 520-622-8848, jacobacostamusic.com
