Jeari Czapla EPK

Is there nothing this guy can’t do?

“I can’t sing like Pavarotti, Celine Dion, Roy Orbison, or many other great vocalists,” he says. “As a singer, people hear me how they choose. Some say my vocal style is like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and someone once said I sounded like David Wilcox.”

So on his own dime, Jeari hired noted Edmonton jazz singer Ruth Blais and Brazilian Vocalist Andre Gibran for his fifth album, Not Only But Also – a horn-laden feast of bossa novas and sambas, led by Jeari’s classical guitar playing that’s sometimes compared to people like Lenny Breau, Django Reinhardt and the late Edmonton legend Gaye Delorme.

Among 100% original compositions on the new album, SunShine, Good Old Days and Little Chip are the singles, “romantic songs,” says Jeari, who wrote his album in five different languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Cree, and English, for a true “worldbeat” flavour.

He does everything himself – including translations, music scoring, engineering, mixing, mastering, and making his own music videos.

Future plans include a deep dive into his culture with a nod to “Little Chip,” based on the life of Chief Peguis, who signed the first Indigenous treaty (Treaty 1) with Lord Selkirk in 1816.

Jeari has been well known across Canada for decades, for his popular cover band Uptown Shuffle and other projects, and is looking forward to taking his unique brand of original worldbeat music onto the live stage, and radio.

RECORDINGS:

• For Ella (2001),
• Dolce (2004),
• Dear Leonardo (2012),
• Live In Your Head (2012),
• Not Only But Also (2020)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

Performing at the 2002 Aboriginal Music Awards at Rogers Place in Toronto for 7,500 fans – where his two-year-old daughter Ella somehow crawled up on the stage and unplugged dad’s guitar while he was playing.

EDUCATION:

His own dad taught him three chords – E, A and D – which he used to write his first song as a young boy called “Burnin’ Rubber”. Jeari later attended University of Manitoba’s music program, took private guitar lessons with Chet Breau (son of Lenny), and came to Edmonton in 1991 to enroll in Grant MacEwan’s then two-year music program.

MEDIA QUOTES:

“Jeari is a very tasty jazz guitarist“ – Ross Porter, CEO Jazz FM, Toronto

“…Edmonton’s Lenny Breau…” – Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun

“Czapla exhibits a notable grasp of both-hands-on-the-frets style…” – Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal

“Guitar aficionados have been impressed by the range and technique of that guy with the hard-to-pronounce name. Czapla creates some amazing sound scapes by using all his fingers simultaneously on the guitar frets.” – Gary McGowan, Vue Weekly.

PERFORMANCES:

Jeari Czapla EPK is simply remarkable. Performing a Two Hour Fine Dining Jazz Set Solo Guitar at Homefire Grill for Three Years and at Milestones Bar & Grill – South Common.

Jeari has performed for decades on various stages and venues across Canada and the USA since 1986. Garnering 10 Nominations for his 5 Canadian album releases, Czapla has achieved World Wide Success with his Native Cree-ative Original Jazz Compositions.

Achieving a Number #1 Album Status in Canada is not easy. Achieving that Twice is even more difficuly. Jeari’s Canadian Jazz Albums have been recognized at the 47th. Annual Grammy Awards in the “Best Jazz Duo or Group”, and category #48 for his second release entitled, ‘Dolce’.

Live from Milestones in Edmonton.

Radio Airplay:
40 Countries World wide currently play Jeari Czapla EPK Original Music. Excellent Musical Work.