Drummer, composer and producer Karl Jannuska
has called Paris his home for the past twenty years. Hailing from Brandon, Manitoba in the Canadian prairies, Karl started drumming when he was four years old - first on pots and pans and eventually moving on to a full set of drums at the age of seven. With the guidance of local music teachers Brent Campbell, Doug Sullivan and Wayne Bowman as well as older university students that took Karl under their wing, the young drummer moved to Montreal where he completed a
Bachelor of Music degree from
McGill University, graduating with
High Distinction in
Jazz Performance. In addition to valuable instruction from professors such as Gordon Foote, Chris McCann, Kevin Dean and André White, it was an experience that gave Karl a thirst for writing his own music.
In 1999, with grants from the Canadian and Quebec Arts Councils, Karl moved to Brooklyn where he studied with drummer Tom Rainey. A year later Karl moved to Paris where he has become one of the most versatile and in-demand drummers. He can be heard on over 100 records and he has performed concerts in over 30 countries sharing the stage and/or recording with musicians including Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Lionel Loueke, Hugh Coltman, Mark Turner, Christine Jensen, Enrico Pieranunzi, Ben Monder, Emile Parisien, Leif Vollebekk, Randy Brecker, Ben Wendel, Laurent Coq, François Bourassa, Kevin Hays, Brad Turner, Franck Amsallem, Seamus Blake, Chuck Israels, Sam Yahel, Michel Donato, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He can also be heard as a member of the bands of
Toine Thys,
Olivier Bogé, Meta,
Matthis Pascaud,
Nicolas Moreaux,
Michael Felberbaum,
Thomas Savy,
Cobra Fantastic,
Pierre de Bethmann and
Christophe Dal Sasso with whom he won a 2020
Victoires du Jazz award for "Group of the Year".
Unsatisfied with only being an accompanist, Karl completes his musical identity with his songwriting and has released six albums entirely comprised of his own original compositions :
Liberating Vines (2004) received an
Opus Award for "Jazz and World Music album of the year" ;
Thinking in Colours (2008) includes his song "House of 100 Faces" which received a
CBC Etoiles Galaxie prize for "Most original composition" at the
Montreal International Jazz Festival ;
Streaming (2010) debuted his eight-year collaboration with Canadian vocalist
Sienna Dahlen ; The Halfway Tree (2012) was awarded a grant from the
SACEM for self-produced albums ;
Midseason (2016), with music and lyrics entirely penned by Karl, this recording features Canadian vocalist
Denzal Sinclaire, in addition to Sienna ;
On The Brighter Side (2018), classified as "ethereal indie jazz" and bridging Karl's love of bands such as Radiohead, Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors and Bjork with his jazz roots, this album marked the beginning of a new collaboration with French vocalist
Cynthia Abraham.
Midseason and
On The Brighter Side were released on the
Shed Music label - a label that Karl cofounded in 2015 with
Christophe Panzani,
Pierre Perchaud and
Tony Paeleman, members of his close-knit musical family who also form the band
The Watershed.
In January 2021 Karl released the EP
Featherweight that he produced in collaboration with Swedish vocalist
Sofie Sorman. Karl's seventh album, Duality, featuring Cynthia Abraham will be released in March 2022.
Two-time runner-up in the prestigious
International Songwriting Competition, Karl also enjoys teaching music and has shared his knowledge at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, the
Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood, Conservatoire National de Belgique. He has also been a member of the teaching faculty at the French festivals
Jazz in Marciac and
Jazz à Vienne.