Oakland vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rhonda Sauce in 2026 establishes that everything new is actually old. Born and raised in the city, she left the Bay Area to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in linguistics and technical writing before returning in 2018 for a corporate job. During Covid, she left the corporate job, issued her first solo EP, and has been concentrating full-time on music ever since.
On May 9, Sauce premieres This Must Be the Place, a collection of entirely new songs. As part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival, the one-night performance presents Sauce with pianist Adam Kipple. The playlist consists of original songs written by Sauce that for her represent taking a gigantic backward step and returning to her authentic roots.
In an interview, she explains the ambiguity inherent in those roots, especially in today’s binary branding environment that pushes this-or-that identities on artists. Her mother is a Filipino immigrant; her father is African American. Her music bears vestiges of classical violin training, a caretaker who spoke Spanish, gospel, reggae, folk, Afro-Brazilian, indie and jazz. The lyrics might be written in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
“I guess I identify as Black,” she says. “Predominantly in work spaces, I find the cognitive dissonance of being many things at once can be difficult to accept. My upbringing in Oakland was multiracial, immigrant and American. In an ideal world, I wouldn’t have to choose one identity.”
Music suggests the possibility, if not the reality, of an ideal world. Mentors with whom she has studied or worked have reminded her to advocate for her true self. Among them are Faye Carroll and Tammy Hall.
Sauce first worked with Carroll in the Jazz Camp West program. It was early in her career, and she didn’t think of her voice or her songwriting as significant, magnificent or noteworthy. “I sat in the back, tried not to be noticed. Faye picked up on that right away and pulled me forward, telling me I had to accept and honor the gifts I had. From her, I learned to just be true,” she recalls.
“Tammy emphasized I shouldn’t have to choose between jazz or soul music, between Black or Filipino,” she says. “I shouldn’t justify or fragment myself to be marketable or digestible. People constantly project on you, how you fit in. I find people I trust who don’t make me choose. The art benefits from that.”
The authenticity of Sauce’s new work rests in embracing her reputation as an accomplished singer of jazz standards and vocalese lyrics while simultaneously venturing into territory spanning Brazilian, soul, R&B, folk tunes and more. “I get to be all parts of me,” she notes. “There’s vocalese where I’ve written lyrics to [established] instrumental jazz solos, straight-ahead jazz and new things I’m communicating into the musical conversation. For the first time, the arc pushes the limits of what constitutes jazz. The more I do what I want, the more it fully enriches my practice.”
Steeping herself in the culture of a particular language, she has become increasingly appreciative of the nuances. Metaphorically variable and different in how certain words stretch over extended notes or add percussive qualities to the lyrics, the distinctions seem minor, but are artistically significant. One example she cites: Vowel sounds sung in Portuguese lend themselves to the poetry of Brazilian music more than does English.
“I write music in these styles in authentic ways,” says Sauce. “It’s not a gimmick. It demonstrates the history of the music. I honor where it comes from.”
A song with personal references, “Some Other Place,” centers on feeling threatened and vulnerable in the current political environment as a woman, person of color and artist.
“It’s a chaotic time,” says Sauce. The lyrics put forth finding the love, happiness and “floating free” feeling that are deserved and worth fighting to preserve. “It’s not telling anybody how to feel,” she explains. “It’s presenting uncertainty, unrest, patience, yearning and longing. The harmony, groove and rhythms are opportunities to connect.”
Feeling liberated to express versatility by the collaboration with Kipple, Sauce says their pairing is “kismet.” She expected a serious, rigorous experience, but discovered an artist who is down-to-earth, eager to follow or lead, have fun and set no limits. Engaging in play—the hard work of professional musicians, but also, the childlike thrill of adventure—she insists is important.
“He welcomes all of me,” she says. “There’s no correct chord or lick; there’s simply an authentic presentation of who I am.”
Rhonda Sauce performs ‘This Must Be the Place’ on Saturday, May 9, at 8pm, Fingersnaps Media Arts, 3527 20th St., San Francisco. For info and tickets, visit sfiaf.org.
