Rebeca Mauleón - pianist, composer, arranger, recording artist, educator, author
“My vision focuses on a celebration of diversity in our community, bringing together musical and other artistic elements in a tapestry which tells the story of the Americas, from diaspora to transculturation to multi-culturalism.”
She has been at the forefront of Latin and World music for over twenty-five years. A prolific pianist, composer, arranger as well as author and educator, Mauleón has performed with luminaries in the Latin, Pop and World music scenes, including Carlos Santana, Mickey Hart, Tito Puente, Steve Winwood, Israel “Cachao” López, Giovanni Hidalgo, Carlos Patato Valdez, Joe Henderson and others.
Her performing and arranging credits include GRAMMY winners and nominees Tito Puente “Goza Mi Timbal,” Steve Winwood “Junction Seven,” and Carlos Patato Valdez “Ritmo y Candela.” In the 90s she recorded and toured with Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum as the group’s Musical Director.
As a producer, Mauleón’s solo releases “Round Trip,” and “Latin Fire” have garnered international critical acclaim, earning top-ten status on the Latin Beat Hit Parade for seven consecutive months, including number one. Her latest recording, “Descarga en California,” features some of Latin music's legendary figures, including Armando Peraza, Orestes Vilató and Giovanni Hidalgo, and explodes with the passion and energy of the classic Cuban descarga.
As the leader of her own ensemble, Rebeca has appeared at numerous renowned music festivals, including the Kennedy Center’s “Women in Jazz” festival in 1999, the Monterey Jazz Festival and San Francisco and San José Jazz Festivals. In 2001 she was the recipient of the prestigious Meet the Composer New Residencies Award, for a three-year residency at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Rebeca is also much in-demand as a teacher and clinician throughout the U.S. and Europe, specializing in Latin music performance and history, combining hands-on master classes with high- energy performances by her ensemble. She is the author of several texts on Latin music technique, including the highly acclaimed Salsa Guidebook ( Sher Music, 1993), the Latin Real Book (Sher Music, 1997), 101 Montunos (Sher Music, 1999) and Muy Caliente (Sher Music, 2000). She has also published articles for several top industry magazines, including JazzTimes, Keyboard, Grammy Gateway, Modern Drummer, Mix en Español and Bass Player, and serves as musicological consultant and writer for National Geographic.
Rebeca is a tenured professor of Latin American Music at City College of San Francisco, a guest lecturer at U.C. Berkeley, a member of the Recording Academy as well as the Latin Recording Academy, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Recording Academy's San Francisco Chapter.
