JazzInToronto's Songbird Series: Mother's Day with Elena Kapeleris

Elena Kapeleris - vocals/saxophone Tom Juhas - guitar Elena Kapeleris is a Toronto-based saxophonist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, whose love of various styles of music has lead her from Jazz, to R&B, to Blues, to World Music and more. A graduate of the Humber College Jazz Performance program, Elena has studied saxophone with world renowned saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, composition with the great Don Thompson, and voice with Shannon Gunn. Elena is currently a member of blues singer Rita Chiarelli’s touring band, Yetunde Ajasin’s Afrika Libre, and plays with R&B vocalist Sean Jones, Ethiopian vocalist Fantahun Shewankochew, and Friendly Rich. Kapeleris also leads multiple projects of her own, and is in the process of writing her second album. She is currently a private instructor of voice and woodwinds at Centennial College. During Elena’s career, she has performed with many other recognized artists such as Kellylee Evans, Diana Brathwaite, Jackie Richardson, Brandi Disterheft, Pat LaBarbera, Neil Swainson, Hilario Duran, and many more. She has played Massey Hall, Roy Thompson Hall and the NAC in Ottawa multiple times with the Women’s Blues Revue. Kapeleris has performed with these great artists at many different venues in the city, as well as clubs and Jazz and Blues Festivals around the world.