But in the pressure cooker of the first years of the pandemic Sierra decided the time was ripe to showcase his own compositions and arrangements. “I’ve been playing this music for a long time,” he said. They’re joined by rising Nicaraguan-American percussionist Ahkeel Mestayer, “a young lion of percussion who’s studied with everyone,” Sierra said. It’s another case of Sierra spreading his creative wings, while preparing to make his next statement as a bandleader. SAÚL SIERRA QUARTETWhen & where: 8 p.m. Jan.30 at San Jose Jazz’s Break Room, San Jose; $27; sanjosejazz.org; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Sound Room, Oakland; $35-$40; www.soundroom.org