Bio

Sean Haefeli is a forward-thinking musician, skilled as a pianist, vocalist, and composer. His music represents a convergence of sensibilities and aesthetics. As threads of jazz, soul, and poetic lyricism intersect, the music arrives, distinctively modern and probing. Uncontrived, this convergence accurately reflects Sean’s musical awareness, study, and seeming contradiction.

Though Sean spent his early years training as a classical pianist, he was mainly listening to hip-hop and r&b. And while he entered Depaul University as an opera major, he graduated with a degree in English literature, cultivating an appreciation for a diverse range of poets, and regularly appearing on Chicago’s spoken word scene. After graduation, he immersed himself in jazz and improvisation, working in a range of performance mediums and styles, while further widening his listening sphere.

In 2002, Sean released Natural Hunger, an eclectic and personal journey, rendered in an acoustic setting. This promising debut triggered references to the Last Poets, Roberta Flack, Michael Franti, “soft jazz crooners and even old school rhythm and blues masters.”

During 2005, Sean began assembling the pieces to realize his latest vision, the Haef Project. At that time, the group consisted of vocals, keys, brass, with electronic beats and textures. As time went on, the group evolved, expanding with the addition of a drummer and bass player, balancing the live elements with subtle electronics. In 2006, the group began recording sessions. The result was Sound Strategy, an album which takes the shape of a hybrid form, while at the same time, maintaining aesthetic consistency. The album integrates metric shape-shifting, adept lyricism, deceptive melodies, and harmonic intricacies, counterbalancing these elements with passion, flow and groove.

Recently, Sean was awarded his first licensing deal, in a promotional campaign from Mercedes-Benz. In addition, he was featured on two releases of the Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape.

At the same time, insightful reviews have begun to capture the honest originality his music. Nu Soul Magazine writes, “Sound Strategy portrays a skilled and passionate musician, who strives to put his best foot forward using nothing more or less than he’s always known to be true to his core being . . . Much like Sean portrays himself, the album makes the best of what jazz and its adjacent genres have to offer.” Black Girls Rule! Magazine praises:

“Natural Hunger says it all in its title. With its ear tingling verses Sean simply draws you in and bares his soul, never once leaving you astray. What a beautiful inside view into a man who wants only to take you where he’s been and how he’s living. This is a rare find and definitely a keeper in my eyes. Sean Haefeli is an artist for all seasons.”

As Sean’s world becomes larger, and the understanding of his music deepens, so too, does his inspiration, belief, and vision continue to grow.