Jeff Staflund

Jeff Staflund (born Jeffrey Staflund on February 11, 1968 in Weyburn, but raised in Lanigan, Saskatchewan) is a singer-songwriter and pianist currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has released 3 albums written in French and in English and performs mostly in Manitoba and in Saskatchewan. His music has been compared to that of Jackson Browne.

Jeff currently works in Winnipeg as a French-English translator. He also plays the piano to accompany dancers and is an occasional jury member on various music competitions.

Awards and Accomplishments

In 1991, he won the CKSB Phonogramme competition and won first prize as a singer-songwriter in the Gala manitobain de la chanson.

Five years later, in 1996, he won The Title of best singer-songwriter at the Gala fransaskois de la chanson. At the Gala interprovincial de l'Ouest (now called Chant’Ouest) in June of the same year, he won the prize for audience favourite, the prize from the French newspapers and the SOCAN award for best song.

He is a founding member of The Rainbow Harmony Project (1999) and the choir interpreted his music in a show presented in 2004 (MP3: Le vent d’été).

On March 19, 2004, he performed at the Studio-théâtre de la Place des Arts in Montréal as part of a competition called Ma première Place des Arts.

In 2004, he was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award in the category Outstanding Francophone Recording..

Discography

Plénitude

In 1999, Jeff released his first album called Plénitude. The album consisted of 9 French-language tracks.

1. "Le vent d'été"
2. "Marie"
3. "De mon balcon"
4. "Sylvie"
5. "Un beau matin"
6. "Cet hiver"
7. "Le dimanche matin"
8. "Les saisons"
9. "Sans toi"

Trust, Believe and Follow

In 2003, his second album, Trust, Believe and Follow, was produced by Hospice and Palliative Care Manitoba as a fundraiser. This time, the album was recorded mostly in English. The organization's website introduces the album by saying “Jeff is a gifted artist whose music has the potential to be used in many ways for personal reflection, as centering music, bereavement and therapeutic group settings and educational workshops."

1. "Loss" (instrumental)
2. "When Heart Speaks"
3. "Not How Long the Road Is"
4. "Reflection" (instrumental)
5. "On a Journey"
6. "Fall"
7. "Light" (instrumental)
8. "Find Your Anchor"
9. "Courage"
10. "Joy" (instrumental)
11. "Time to Reach this Place"
12. "Waiting" (instrumental)

Ma nature

In 2003, shortly after Trust, Believe and Follow was released, Jeff launched a bilingual album called Ma Nature. A very favourable review of the album, written by Marc Lalonde, was published in French on the Centr@rt website.

1. "Quand je m'éloigne des prairies"
2. "Window Pain"
3. "Wedding Song"
4. "Quand la nuit tombe sur les plaines"
5. "Ma nature"
6. "Lettre à un neveu"
7. "Courage"
8. "Nostalgique"
9. "Il y a de ces endroits"
10. "Petit bonhomme"
11. "Ce qui restera de nous"
12. "Improvisation for Celeste"
13. "What Beauty Really Is"
14. "Me voilà déjà rendu"
15. "Beautiful Night Sky"

Colour and Rain

A fourth album, Colour And Rain, is in the works for 2008.

Other

His songs have appeared on a number of compilations, such as Rado 95 and Fwazon (released as part of the Festival des mots, organized by the DSFM).

Television appearances

1998
- Boîte à chansons II hosted by Édith Butler, Winnipeg
- Double étoile with Marie-Michèle Desrosiers, Moncton (aired Saturday, June 19, 1999)

2000 and 2004
- Télé-Relais, Winnipeg (part of the Festival du Voyageur)

2003, December 9
- A review of Ma nature was presented on ZIG ZAG: "Jeff Staflund est un chansonnier sentimental […] Il a atteint la maturité. Il maîtrise son art, tant au niveau des textes qu'au niveau des arrangements."