Rebecca Kleinmann

Rebecca Kleinmann is an acclaimed flutist, singer, and composer with a twenty year professional career marked by diversity and improvisation. In the words of Latin Grammy Nominated pianist and composer, Jovino Santos Neto, “Rebecca plays flute with the passion of a flamenco dancer.” An explorer at heart, she rockets and flows between genres, one day leading, The Rebecca Kleinmann Jazz Quartet, with pianist Alex Conde, bassist Gary Brown, and drummer Marlon Aldana, the next day performing with a Brazilian Choro ensemble, and then later that night jamming in flamenco juergas. Rebecca’s international career has taken her to perform on stages in Argentina, Brazil, and Europe including the Melbourne’s International Women in Jazz Festival, as well as being featured at the SF Jazz Center, the San Jose Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s San Francisco, and the Oakland Paramount Theatre closer to home. She has performed and recorded with great musicians including Carlos Oliveira, Lionel Loueke, SK Kakraba, Rob Curto, Almir Cortes, and Kina Mendez and worked with many dancers including Clara Rodriquez, Melissa Cruz, and Rosangela Silvestre. She also freelances, records on soundtracks and plays with Dona Francisca Forró Band and La Dee Da Indie Band. In the words of master Jazz Pianist Benny Green, Kleinmann is masterful and selfless in her ability and inclination of melding her sound with her environment.”

Kleinmann’s recent projects include her jazz quartet, a 2015 tour with virtuoso flamenco guitarist, Jason McGuire and his Trio, as well as the Flamenco-Turkish Ensemble, La Ruya. For the last four years, Rebecca has been hosting a series “Brazil and Beyond” at Senegalese venue Bissap Baobab in San Francisco. Her other favorite project is her duo with Brazilian guitarist Ian Faquini. Their alchemy together has been heralded as “the balance of deep preparation with the unaffected abandon to go wherever the moment leads.”

Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rebecca began improvising on flute in a Gospel Church while also playing in the city’s Youth Symphony. In 2000, she won the National Flute Association’s Jazz competition with the performance of an original composition. She studied Jazz with David Baker at the acclaimed Indiana University School of Music then traveled extensively to immerse herself in the cultures of Flamenco, Tango and Brazilian Music. Rebecca produced her first album “Raio de Sol” in 2005 including co-written music with legendary musician Hermeto Pascoal, and performances by Grammy artists Airto Moreira and Jovino Santos Neto.

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