Since the independent release of his breakthrough solo piano collection Tender Ritual in 1985, Jim Chappell has been acknowledged as one of contemporary instrumental music’s most engaging composers. "Few artists are able to crystallize an emotion in a melody the way Chappell can," the Monterey Peninsula Herald newspaper has said. "His music is written for the heart’s ear."

Jim’s long and successful career has yielded a dozen recorded albums establishing him as a recording artist as well as a highly respected performer. He received critical and popular acclaim for his poignant solo piano piece "Gone" on his second album Dusk, and his radio hit album Living the Northern Summer reached the Top Ten. Several of Jim’s albums have received heavy national and international airplay on Smooth Jazz format radio stations. His Over The Top made it to No. 1 on the national charts in 1993.

As a composer and pianist, Jim has toured worldwide to sold-out audiences both as a solo artist and with his contemporary jazz ensemble. His concerts have been filmed and nationally televised in Spain and the Philippines, where the Manila press said, "Chappell has demonstrated a distinct mastery of melody, brimming with refreshing romantic lushness. Listening to his music gives his fans a certain kind of high that leaves them feeling good long afterwards."

Much of Jim’s music has been featured on American national television including a performance by gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano to the song "Gone" on a recent Thanksgiving Day broadcast. His music has also been featured on The Drew Carey Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, several Barbara Walters’ Special programs, the Olympic Games (multiple broadcasts on different networks) and One Life to Live. There are presently two musical transcription books of his work in the marketplace and two other compilations, published by the prestigious Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, one of the largest and most successful sheet music distributors in the world.

Jim’s musical education started at age six, and by 15, he was playing his originals at the local shopping mall in his native Pontiac, Mich., drawing throngs of curious listeners crowding the store. His writing developed through trial and error, with the greatest progress occurring during his travels around the country. His first piano musings were inspired by movie themes and pop artists like the Beatles, Chicago, the Moody Blues and composer Jimmy Webb.

Soon Jim began collaborations with lyricists in attempts to compose for various music publishing companies. But the future top-selling New Age recording artist realized that the free-flowing melodies he played for himself to relax after returning home from long days of meetings with publishers was his true musical calling. Another color was addedto Jim’s composing palette during his work with choreographers, playing free-form improvisational music for the modern dance departments of UCLA, Cal State University at Long Beach and other major U.S. colleges.

In the mid-‘80 Jim undertook his solo piano career on a grassroots level. He began by placing his recordings in a Carmel, Calif. gift shop and sold 12,000 copies of Tender Ritual by going from store to store. The American press attributed the success of Jim’s first album to its "uncomplicated sincerity, and his spare, elegant and vulnerable compositions that create a sense of longing and leave you aching for more."

As Tender Ritual was playing in a shop along the beautiful coastline of Big Sur, Calif. (where it was selling 50 copies a day), actor ROBERT DeNIRO happened in. DeNiro bought a copy and Tender Ritual became one of his all-time favorite albums. Jim was the only music artist invited to perform at DeNiro’s 50th birthday party, where the musician played his original solo piano pieces to a hushed, enthusiastic audience of Who’s Whos in the film industry. Appreciating Jim’s musical magic were actors ROBIN WILLIAMS, DANNY DeVITO AND UMA THURMAN, director MARTIN SCORCESE and music producer QUINCY JONES.

Jim signed with Music West Records to record and distribute additional releases, and as his audience grew, so did his sales. His music began charting in Billboard, where Jim’s compositions were described as "ageless." He subsequently released Dusk, Living the Northern Summer (his first ensemble work), Saturday’s Rhapsody and Nightsongs and Lullabies; the top-selling recording artist joined Real Music in 1990 for his groundbreaking album In Search of the Magic.

With fourteen albums to his credit, which included the EarthSea Series: Volume One, Manila Nights, Laughter at Dawn, and Acadia, Jim most recently finished writing, arranging, recording, and producing his long-awaited new Unspeakable Freedom Music release Serenity Rush, Coming Through, and Honey Wind.

Jim also penned and recorded an original piece for the BLAKE EDWARDS movie Switch. His music has enhanced the Alzheimer Foundation’s PSA video "May I Have This Dance?", which won awards from the 34th Annual New York Festival Competition and in the PR advertising category of the Academy of Medical Films Awards.