Jeffery Straker is a Canadian folk/roots singer-songwriter, based in

Punnichy, Saskatchewan Punnichy ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Mount Hope No. 279 and Census Division No. 10. It is approximately northeast of the City of Regina. This village is part o ...

. His piano-based folk/roots musical style has drawn comparisons to

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

, and

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

Biography

Early life

Jeffery Straker was raised on a grain farm near

and grew up in a musical household. He started piano lessons with local music teacher Mrs Vicky Young and was subsequently taught by Dawn MacTavish. Further piano studies were pursued with Frank Crumly at the Conservatory of Music,

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchew ...

in his senior years of high school earning his Licentiate diploma from

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

when he was 19. Straker attended the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as t ...

) earning a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biology. His third year of university studies was at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Career

Straker independently released his album ''Songs from Highway 15'' in 2006. The folk-pop album contains 10 songs inspired by people and places in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. It was recorded live with engineer Brian Moncarz in Toronto. Canadian singer-songwriter Kat Goldman sang backing vocals on the album. In 2008, Straker released his follow-up album ''Step Right Up'', which included the singles "Hypnotized" and "Somewhere Between". A music video for "Hypnotized" was played on

MuchMore M3 was a Canadian English language Category A services, Category A cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the y ...

Music across Canada. ''Step Right Up'' was re-released on MDM/Universal in 2010. The album was produced by Justin Gray in Toronto and Los Angeles. In 2011, Straker released the album ''under the soles of my shoes'', produced by Dave Thomson in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The recording was mixed by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning engineer Chad Carlson. Straker released a 9-song studio album, ''Vagabond'', on 2 October 2012. The album was produced by

Danny Michel Danny Michel is a Canadian songwriter and producer. Highlights Between 2006 & 2015 Michel performed over 70 times as the musical guest on Stuart McLean's ''The Vinyl Cafe''. In 2008 "''Feather, Fur & Fin''" landed on the ''Playlist for the Pl ...

. Piano tracks were recorded at the

Canadian Broadcasting Centre The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

in Toronto in studio 211, using

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

grand piano.

Fred Penner Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song "The Cat Came Back" and his television series, '' Fred Penner's Place'', which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 199 ...

performed harmonica on the song "Birchbark Canoe". In 2014 the recording ''Live with CBC Radio'' was released. It was recorded by CBC Radio in the Mae Wilson Theatre in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

, Saskatchewan. In 2015 Jeffery released ''North Star Falling'' produced by Dean Drouillard. The album debuted in the top 10 of the iTunes singer-songwriter charts in its first 2 weeks. In May 2017, Straker released "Dirt Road Confessional", a 12 song recording with roots-folk influenced arrangements and instrumentation. The album was produced in 5 different studios by several producers:

Daniel Ledwell Daniel Ledwell is a Canadian record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is married to singer-songwriter Jenn Grant. Music career In 2008 Ledwell produced his debut solo album, ''Two Over Seven'' in his home ...

(Lake Echo, Nova Scotia);

Royal Wood Royal Wood is a Juno-nominated Canadian musician and record producer based in Toronto, Ontario. To date, he has released eight studio albums, three EPs, and one live record. Biography Early life Wood was born John Royal Wood Nicholson and raise ...

and Lawrence Katz (Los Angeles, California); Dean Drouillard (Toronto, Ontario); Brad Prosko and Murray Pulver (Regina, Saskatchewan); Robyn Dell'Unto (Toronto, Ontario). The album contains 2 songs co-written with Royal Wood and Lawrence Katz, a song co-written with

Jay Semko John Peter "Jay" Semko is a singer/songwriter and bassist with Canadian band, The Northern Pikes. He is also a music composer for numerous film and television productions, most notably the successful Canadian television series ''Due South''. Semk ...

, and a co-write with Karen Kosowski. May 2021 saw the release of the 10-song LP "Just Before Sunrise". Production was by Russell Broom (Calgary AB) who also played guitars and banjo on the recording. Two songs were produced by

in Toronto ON. The recording tied for the #2 spot in the "Best Saskatchewan Albums of 2021" ranking Straker was named Roots/Folk Artist of the Year in both the 2020 and 2021 Saskatchewan Music Awards. He tours over 100 shows each year and performed his sold out orchestral debut with the

Regina Symphony Orchestra The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) was founded by Frank Laubach, in Regina, Saskatchewan, as the ''Regina Orchestral Society'' in 1908, giving its inaugural concert December 3 of that same year. Becoming the ''Regina Choral and Orchestral Societ ...

in Regina Saskatchewan, October 2011. He has performed subsequent orchestral concerts of his work with the

Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a professional orchestra based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan administered by the non-profit Saskatoon Symphony Society. The orchestra was founded in 1927 as an amateur orchestra, but today has 10 core member ...

in October 2013 and 2018 and the

Sudbury Symphony Orchestra The Sudbury Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian symphony orchestra based Sudbury, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has histor ...

in 2015. Jeffery was the winner of the international category of the 55th Vina del Mar International Song Festival (Chile) in February 2014 with his song ''Hypnotized''. The singer-pianist is a regular national cast member of the long running telethon

Telemiracle ''Telemiracle'' is an annual telethon organized by the Kin Canada, Kinsmen and Kinettes in Saskatchewan, Canada for the benefit of the Kin Canada, Kinsmen Foundation. Initially broadcast on both CTV Television Network, CTV and CBC Television, ...

produced by the

Kin Canada Kin Canada (formerly the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Canada) is a secular Canadian non-profit service organization that promotes service, fellowship, positive values, and national pride. Kin Canada is an organization whose members comprise K ...

(Kinsmen and Kinettes) of

, Canada. The telethon is broadcast on CTV. He is represented by Paquin Artists Agency.

Discography

*''Songs from Highway 15'' (2006) *''Step Right Up'' (2008) *''under the soles of my shoes'' (2011) *''Vagabond'' (2012) *"Comin Home for Christmas" – single (2013) *''Live with CBC Radio'' (2014) *''North Star Falling'' (2015) *''Dirt Road Confessional'' (2017) *''Just Before Sunrise'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Straker, Jeffery Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian LGBT singers Canadian LGBT songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters Musicians from Saskatchewan Canadian gay musicians Canadian pop singers Canadian pop pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists Canadian male pianists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Gay singers Gay songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters