One of the most exciting musicians on the West Coast electronic Hip Hop scene doesn't "play" a laptop andhas never released an album under his own name. Even though he just signed to avant dance imprintWagon Repair, he isn't really so new to them either. In fact, homegrown jazz percussionist turned Hip Hopproducer Jules Chaz has been buzzing around the label's ear and gigging in British Columbia for the last 15 years in various Latin, jazz and reggae bands and supporting the extended Cobblestone Jazz posse. In 2010, Jules Chaz at last releases his eagerly anticipated debut, "Toppings", under his own name. "The album is a compilation of the best of what I've done in the last three years plus new stuff. These are the cream of the crop from those sessions," Chaz promises-and most importantly, delivers.

Those sessions were produced in part in a studio he shares with another member of Victoria's burgeoning music scene, Danuel Tate, keyboardist for Cobblestone Jazz. "The place is packed with Hammond organs, vibraphones, drum kits. It's a nice big studio." A lot of the material was also home made. "I have a son who's five years old. I put him to bed and then work. I have a little digital workstation. It has a couple sample pads, but that sampler doesn't even have sequencer. I mostly record things in real time, then compose on the go." Keeping it lo-fi, he adds, "I use a Moog, a vibraphone, lots of nice percussion. I made snares and kicks outof my own drum kit. I like using the gear, like a dub studio." When he's not making original sounds, he's very deliberate about incorporating others' work. "I sample things that I've studied for years, that are part of my life. I don't go out digging just for the sake of putting out records."

Chaz's life and musical trajectory were cast long before he ever met the Cobblestone crew. "My mother and father were on the younger side, in a band like Iggy and the Stooges. My mom's singing was super new wave/punk bad but kind of good. My dad was a drummer. I was sitting in the kick drum when I was three. I remember standing in front of the Leslie speaker and feeling the warmth. I was on the drum before I could reach the pedals." After first contact was made, Jules Chaz spent his formative years cutting his chops at one of the better music schools in Canada. "My dad randomly bought a house near a high school(Esquimalt) that had a good jazz program. During high school I went to the States and saw a lot of the bestmusicians of the time, competed in competitions. Dan Tate was in that jazz program." It was the beginning of creative friendships that endure today. "My main work spot I share with Dan Tate and Cobblestone. Mat[Jonson] used to live with me. It took a while, but I knew this [album] would happen."

During his extended incubation, Chaz took his training to heart, honing his passion for reggae with adisciple's pure intent. "It took me 12 years to play a real good rock steady beat in the '60s/'70s style. I studied Patois, got into the religious side of reggae. I wanted to explore where Hip Hop came from, where reggae came from. I think it's important to know what you're doing." Underscoring his reverence, he footnotes, "I don't eat pork, but I don't walk around with dreadlocks either." His musical reach was also broadened by playing in a band on a cruise ship around the world, an experience that meshed with hisappetite for the exotic. "I did hundreds of gigs, backing up all kinds of people, collecting instruments fromdifferent places. I got a tambourine from Morocco that I used on this album."

Jules Chaz's intense dedication to his music and his boundless influences have garnered props from someof his most respected peers. In December of 2009, he met and formed a deep connection with emcee Moka Only who included Jules Chaz on his Martian Xmas compilation alongside venerable indie wunderkind Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas. Praising Canada's leading rapper Chaz rhapsodizes, "Moka's like Dilla to me. He's amazing. We met through Ishkan, he told Moka to check me out. He came out of a hermit shell and collab'd with me and since then we've been working. We're doing a project now that we're gonna put out. It's going to be his first instrumental album." Another notable early fan has been Gilles Peterson who's played"Yes I Do" on his influential BBC radio show.

Although he remains loyal to his hometown, Chaz has considered moving to Los Angeles for practical,obvious reasons. "A lot of the people I'm meeting and want to collaborate with are from that underground. People like Flying Lotus and things like the Internet make it a lot easier for hip hop to get weirder and more experimental."

Other outlets for Chaz's restless creativity include playing live Hip Hop with Kia Kadiri. The group recently opened for emcee Abstract Rude, co-founder of Project Blowed, an open mic workshop for kids. The project is an idea that's close to Chaz's heart. "I teach kids drums, percussion. My son is a little prodigy on the drums and keys." In addition to all this gigging, teaching and recording Chaz is also holding down a bi­weekly residency as Sunday selector at the Tyger Dhula's Mint lounge in Victoria.

Throwing down the gauntlet to the international Hip Hop community, Jules Chaz entices, "I'm hoping some MC's get a hold on this album and do something with it." Given his track record, that "something" will likelypush the West Coast Hip Hop movement to the next level. That he is doing it largely with analog and homemade equipment is just one reason Moka Only has repeatedly and emphatically stated, "I foresee great things for his future."

www.myspace.com/juleschaz