Jim Chappell is an American smooth jazz pianist.

Chappell was born and raised in Michigan. He traveled widely in the United States as a young adult before relocating to Nashville, where he began pursuing a career as a songwriter. He later moved to Los Angeles, California, where he landed an opportunity to create accompaniment music for the modern dance department of UCLA . He released his debut album, Tender Ritual in 1986 which sold more than 12,000 copies solely by personal promotional efforts and touring. Following the success of Tender Ritual, he scored a string of successful albums on the U.S. New Age music charts from the years 1989 to 1994.