Jeffery Straker

Singer-Songwriter-Pianist

“Rufus Wainwright, as well as K.D. Lang are among the Canadians making essential and beautiful music. Add the name Jeffery Straker to that list”
– Chicago Free Press, Gregg Shapiro (Jan ‘09)

“Cycling through (his) record I could not help but wonder why he’s not already a star in this country. Over time, he’s evolved into a fine songwriter with great lyrical sensibilities. Straker is very much an artist to watch”
– Canadian Musician Magazine (Feb ’09)

Singer-songwriter-pianist Jeffery Straker performs over 100 shows per year across Canada. He recently recorded for CBC radio’s ‘Canada Live’, and had a music video rise to the top 10 (#6) on Canada’s Much More Music. His previous album ‘Step Right Up’ was the #5 selling album in his home-land of Saskatchewan in August 2010, ahead of both Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. He’s sure neither of them cared. But he is sure that he, in fact, did. He’s just launched a new album, ‘under the soles of my shoes’ (June 2011), and is touring Canada in support of it with shows ranging from intimate house concerts to a show with the full Regina Symphony Orchestra (Oct 2011). Canadian Musician Magazine has written of Straker’s folk-pop-cabaret music: “Very much an artist to watch” while the Chicago Free Press has written: “Rufus Wainwright as well as k.d. lang are among the Canadians making essential and beautiful music…add the name Jeffery Straker to that list”.

Originally from small town Saskatchewan, the classically trained pianist was raised by a church organist mother and an auctioneer father. He swears he was born under the piano on the family farm. All this might explain his ability to share songs with audiences. His recent touring has seen him share songs at: a debut performance at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), a return to the Breakout West Festival (Whitehorse, Yukon), Regina Folk Festival, and Canadian Music Week (Toronto). He has also performed at JunoFest and NXNE and recently toured in Ghana (Africa).

His songwriting has seen him become a national top 10 finalist in the Canadian Radiostar Songwriting Competition and a top 20 finalist in the global Unisong Competition. In September 2010 he was honored to be short-listed for the Sask. Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award. Not at all sure if he would actually win it, he was delighted to attend the gala as he was sure the cake would be amazing. It was.

Straker has already completed recording new songs for his next release. This time out he used Glenn Gould’s famed ‘practice’ grand piano (at the CBC studios in Toronto) with Danny Michel as producer. The album will launch in 2012.

Jeffery is a musical descendant of Beethoven through teacher-student lineage (seriously…see his website for the full story). He was a student of the Royal Conservatory of Music and received his licentiate diploma in piano performance from Trinity College, London when he was 19.

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/jefferystraker

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jeffery.straker.music

ITUNES PING: http://c.itunes.apple.com/ca/profile/id-26700

WATCH FOR AN NEW ALBUM IN LATE 2012

THE BEETHOVEN CONNECTION:

His musical prowess and flare at the piano has an incredibly famous connection – it’s true. While studying at the conservatory of music at the University of Regina, Jeffery worked with one Frank Crumly, who had been taught by Thomas Manshardt, who previously had been taught by Howard Wells, who was a student of Leschetizky (acknowledged as the greatest teacher of all time), who was taught by Czerny, who, you guessed it, was taught by Beethoven. A similar lineage through Manshardt connects Jeffery to Chopin. Quite the piano pedigree.

Jeffery thanks the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskMusic and FACTOR for their on-going support of his music.

Some interesting tidbits about Jeffery:

• He holds a degree (B.Sc.) in plant biology from the University of Saskatchewan
• Jeffery’s early album Songs from Highway 15 is a collection of 10 songs inspired by people and places in the Canadian prairies. Highway 15 is the road that runs past his parents farm.
• Jeffery has performed as far away as Ireland, China, New York City, and Panama (with the Canadian Embassy). He performed in a mountain town in Panama where the venue was a cathedral and the whole first row was nuns in habits. This has never happened again since. It quite possibly never will.
• He traveled to Ghana, Africa in Feb 2012 and performed a series of 6 shows and conducted songwriting workshops with local musicians and school students.
• While recording part of Step Right Up in LA, Jeffery slept at the famed Alta Cienega Motel in room 32 where Jim Morrison slept during his Hollywood stint in the late 60’s (see photo page on his website site for pix)
• Jeffery’s first piano teacher was Vicky Young in Punnichy SK. Mrs Dawn Mctavish of Raynmore SK was his next teacher, followed by Frank Crumly at the Conservatory of Music, University of Regina
• Jeffery did do some vocal training in Toronto with the talented Elizabeth Davidson. She actually helped him ‘find’ about 12 new notes he didn’t know he could sing – up in his high range. It was a strange awakening. But Elizabeth works magic.
• Tykie is a real person! (see song ‘Tykie’s comin out’) Jeffery went to school with him.
• The song ‘Special K’ was inspired by a real incident in a WholeFoods grocery store in Toronto.
• Jeffery eats peanut butter out of the jar. It’s not pretty.

Discography

• Middle of Somewhere (2002) (2-song single)
• Petrified (2003)
• Songs from Highway 15 (2006)
• Step Right Up (indie release 2008/full national release 2010)
• under the soles of my shoes (2011)