Leading Latin Lady ~ Rebeca Mauleón

Rebeca Mauleón & band at Stanford University, summer 2013.  Photo by Scott Chernis.

Rebeca Mauleón is a tour de force.  She has leveled the playing field with her piano prowess and rythmic rule.  She has proven that ladies in jazz are center stage as an acclaimed pianist, composer, arranger, author, educator and producer.  Her composing credits include music for television, film, software and symphony orchestra.  She is a Grammy-nominated producer, a tenured professor of music history, performance and composition, a contributing writer to National Geographic and JazzTimes Magazine, and is Director of Education for SFJAZZ.

Her Wikipedia entry begins: "Rebeca Mauleón is an American pianist, composer, arranger, and writer, specializing in salsa and other Latin American and Afro-Caribbean music...Since her early twenties, she has performed and recorded with celebrities in the Latin and jazz music scenes, including Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, Cachao, the celebrated conguero Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Armando Peraza, Giovanni Hidalgo, Joe Henderson, Sheila E, Steve Winwood, Michael Nesmith and others, and has made a name for herself as one of very few female band-leaders in Afro-Caribbean jazz."  Just as her band list is a Who's Who of Latin American & Afro-Cuban Jazz, so is her list of revered performance forums:  'Woman in Jazz' at The Kennedy Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ Center, Sundance (as a Composers fellow), Woodstock, and the Conan O'Brien and Regis & Kathy Lee television shows, to name a few.  She was also nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album.  How could I know that our paths would eventually cross when we were buying up her salsa primer for drum lessons?  This primer she has written is widely regarded as the "bible" of salsa, outlining the complicated rhythmic patterns therein.  In addition to several books with play-along CDs and original sheet music for big band & combos, she has also authored MIDI-based instructional music software, invaluable to any student looking to immerse themselves in the nuances of traditional Latin phrasing.  In 2011, she was named  Educational Director of SFJAZZ, and we have benefitted from her support and expertise ever since.  In addition to overseeing the SFJAZZ All-Stars programs, she also authors and directs the popular Discover Jazz series, where lay people can study music.  I carry her Cuban class book as reference for this blog and now understand the 'Latin' music misnomer.  But, it was the experience of attending her 2013 sold-out SFJAZZ Center show, that really got my attention.  A typical Afro-Cuban rhythm section is very different from the standard: in addition to piano, bass and drum-set, you'll see timbales, congas, bongos, and claves.  And, more.  The combination of all these beautiful instruments, with their interwoven rhythms and textures is awesome to behold, individually complicated but comprising a beautiful whole.  Watching her leading this all-male band, bringing down the house, reducing it to the joy of music and dancing, is when I truly understood the comment of one of her SFJAZZ comrades:  "She's bad ass!"

I am privileged to offer Rebeca's answers to the 4 Educator Questions, in her own words.

     
Educator Questions

1.  How do you find a balance between imposing your own ideas over the student's creativity?

The trick is allowing the student to realize that his/her creativity is inevitably limited by their skill-set. I had a dance instructor who once said, "I can only teach you the steps; I can't teach you how to dance!" Ultimately the only thing a teacher can really do is present an idea that you hope will have the most positive results for that particular student, while allowing the student to fully incorporate the concept into their playing on their terms. It's more than just saying, "Do it because it's good for you" of course, and I have always found the best results are achieved when you find the path of least resistance. If the student feels invested in the process they are less likely to resist what you are "imposing" upon them. As I said, it's tricky!

2. Practice + Parent Support = Musical Achievement

Assuming parent support includes lessons or school classes,  do you see this statement as accurate?

Yes and no. First there has to be student-initiated drive, and often too much parental involvement can result in a student who doesn't cultivate the work ethic necessary to achieve their goals. So practice, yes - practice makes you better (there is no "perfect" here). Parental support should combine equal doses of gentle nagging ("Hey, if you've got a free hour maybe you can work on that cool groove I heard you play the other day...") with positive reinforcement ("Wow, I didn't know you knew how to transpose that song into different keys - that's amazing!"). Musical "achievement," on the other hand, can be measured in multiple ways. In my book any young musician who genuinely WANTS to play well knows how competitive the music scene can be, and the mere fact that they have chosen this path will have a long-lasting impact on their life skills. A life in music, no matter what the end result, will always strike a high note on those college apps!

3.  What is your approach to teaching a student a process as intangible and personal as improvisation?

The first thing every student must do is LISTEN to as much as they can, then listen some more! I tell them they must first be INSPIRED by what they hear, then MOTIVATED to imitate what they love, which entails multiple processes including analysis, transcription, memorization and other steps. Kenny Barron commented that he challenges his students to MOVE him - make him cry, give him goosebumps. No small order of course, but my philosophy is that anyone can memorize a bunch of licks; it takes passion and commitment to command an audience during a solo. While improvisation has many intangible elements, the sheer act of putting yourself out there and literally abandoning your control impulses is perhaps the best lesson a teacher can impart on a student. Let them know you've been there, that it's scary and wonderful, and that the outcome is completely unknown yet completely fulfilling. Plus I always remind them to finish up with a bang: no matter the beginning, a strong ending is often the best redemption.

4. What qualities have you seen in students that seem to predict future success in music?

Personal drive and commitment, no wishy-washiness, professional conduct at all times, self-advocacy without arrogance (a tricky one), confidence and humility (also tricky), punctuality, empathy, curiosity and continual thirst for knowledge and self-improvement. I could go on...:-)


Rebeca Mauleón.  Wikipedia, 20 August 2013.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebeca_Mauleon>

Rebeca Mauleón Publications.  15 October 2013.  <http://www.rebecamauleon.com/pub.html>

Afro-Cuban Jazz.  Wikipedia, 8 October 2013.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cuban_jazz>