Alfie Zappacosta has surprised his fans at least three times.

First, after achieving success as a pop star in Toronto during the '80s, even winning a Juno in 1984, he inexplicably moves to Edmonton. Then he suddenly decides he's a jazz singer. Really. He's even managed to convince Jazz City producer Marc Vasey, who knows his jazz, perhaps too well. Zappacosta plays tomorrow night at Tin Pan Alley in a double bill with fellow jazz singer Vivianne Cardinal.

Edmonton, jazz singer ... if ever there was a recipe for obscurity, this is it, though Alfie doesn't necessarily see it that way.

"I'm staying," he says. "My kids love it here. My daughter's now 19, my son's 14. They're in great schools, have great friends. I'm really pleased to be able to say that as far as my career goes, I won already. My kids love me and we're very close. And at this point, I have to say I'm learning to go on the road. And my daughter said to me, 'we're not carrying any baggage, dad, so stop worrying about it. You guys did a good job.' I got all choked up."

No surprise here. Zappacosta is a man in touch with his emotions.

The third surprise was a doozy - after a brush with death from pancreatitis five years ago that landed him in intensive care, the singer is busier than ever.

"I realized that I have an awful lot to do," he says. "I'm not afraid of the idea of dying. It was more of the quality of life. I was very lucky not to be so ill that I'd be carrying it around for the rest of my life. I'm totally recovered now, but I was in a hurry at that point. I think it was a mid-life crisis that caused the stress and everything else that happened."

Alcohol played a part, too, he admits, but mostly it was the stress. This fails to explain why he's got more on his plate now than before he got sick.

In addition to releasing a pair of studio albums in a jazzy, George Benson-ish vein, Zappacosta has distinguished himself in musical theatre, starring in Jesus Christ Superstar and more recently Evita at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. He's soon off to points east to tour and record two live albums in Toronto, one a "greatest hits" type of thing, the other a collection of diehard jazz standards.

This is a way to let the die-hard jazz fans know that "I am worthy," he says. Alfie doesn't seem to mind having to prove himself a second time as a jazz singer. It was the obvious choice for a 48-year-old singer who's been described - by himself - as a hopeless romantic.

"I always loved to just sit there with a classical guitar and a great little combo behind me and know that people would come to listen to what you're doing, rather than people slinging beer all around you and shouting, 'Sabbath!' Even way back then I was writing songs that were a little bit more intricate anyway, so it was a real natural progression. Not to mention the fact that I'm at an age group right now that it makes all the sense in the world, and I know that in the next 40 years of my life, I'll be able to do music I enjoy."

Not that he doesn't still enjoy his older pop hits, though songs like When I Fall In Love Again and We Should be Lovers have been recast in a light-jazz, easy listening, whatever-you-wanna-call-it sound - "mature musical music," he suggests.

(Mature musical music?) OK. As for the musical theatre career, despite rave reviews, including our own Colin MacLean, who wrote that Alfie's performance was the only thing that saved Evita - that's going on hold for a while.

"In my heart, I still want to go out and perform my music as much as possible," Zappacosta says. "Besides, I'm starting to get a little bit too old to do any of these Jesus Christ Superstar things. I'm more Moses now. Somebody should write something about Moses."

I can hear it now: a musical number called Let My People Go, complete with a kick line at the end. Keep it to yourself. We don't want to give Andrew Lloyd Webber any more dangerous ideas.