Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Klukken.
Hi Jenny, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started in small town, rural Minnesota. I was a very artistic and creative kid- writing songs and drawing pictures. I moved to Minneapolis to go to college for music and have stayed in the area. I studied classical music as a percussionist, but have been wandering and exploring my creative voice since finishing my formal education. I discovered an unusual instrument along the way, the marimba. It isn’t a common instrument, but I loved it because it felt similar to piano, but was still in the percussion family of instruments. I also love how unexpected it is, and how quickly people fall I love with its sound. I’ve thought the marimba should be heard by more audiences for many years, so I’ve made it part of my artistic path to write music for it that more people could enjoy. I play and write music in jazz, Latin, pop, and folk styles. I released a full length album last year, with 8 original compositions featuring me on the marimba with an accompanying band. The album is full of energy that makes you want to dance, but is full of such unexpected sounds with the marimba in the spotlight. I’m very proud of it and will continue to create music that pulls marimba into unexpected places. The album “Color in Motion” was #20 on JazzWeek’s national top plays this fall. I also create visual art, acrylics and watercolors. This started just a few years ago, and the extra income enabled me to stop teaching and solely focus on creating art and music. My artworks are often inspired by music, containing bold and bright colors. I like to combine my art and music by creating art process videos with my own music accompanying them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has had plenty of bumps and turns. Pursuing art as a mother of small children is an uphill battle every day. Caring for a family member with cancer brought my international recording project in late 2019 to a screeching halt, and the pandemic shut down every gig I had booked for over a year. I gave birth to my second child in January of 2022 and am finding a new normal for myself, balancing my creative work and the full time job of caring for kids. I’m lucky to have an incredibly supportive partner who also believes that mothers shouldn’t have to choose between their children and their passions.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My primary work is my music. I play the marimba, which isn’t usually something people have ever heard of. I believe it is an undiscovered gem for most listeners, so I compose and perform music that will appeal to wider audiences. In the US, the marimba typically lives in modern classical music world, but I play jazz, Latin, folk, and popular music. I improvise, freestyle, and collaborate with a wide variety of musicians. In the marimba world, I am the artist who leads the way with crossing boundaries for the instrument The marimba community is saturated with classical players, so being a marimbist who plays in jazz venues sets me very much apart.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success by making or being a part of something that brings me deep joy and satisfaction.
Contact Info:
- Email: jennyklukken@gmail.com
- Website: www.jennyklukken.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennyklukken
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jennyklukkenartandmusic
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jenny-klukken
- Other: https://jennyklukken.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Adrian Suarez
Jenny Klukken
