The big news is that my debut album, The Night We Couldn't Say Good Night, came out in 2019 as I entered my fourth decade. Having only come back to performing a few years prior. I had been very involved in theatre and music in my teens and twenties but left when I broke my legs in a car accident, and then had my hands full with young children. It was a three-year process to prepare and manage all the elements from composing, writing lyrics, massaging arrangements, rehearsing, mixing, mastering, obtaining publishing permissions, securing copyright for original material, investigating publicity and radio tracking options, booking gigs. Having had a few years between where I worked in marketing and business development and corporate communications sure helped, but wow! Artists sure where a lot of hats these days!
Having never released music to platforms and radio around the world, you can imagine... it's a scary proposition! Will people listen? Will it get played on the radio? Will jazz publications listen and write good reviews? It has been such an encouraging success, but more than that, it was the push I needed to grow my musical knowledge, confidence and administrative/marketing skills in countless ways.
Rehearsed and recorded in New York City with exceptional musicians and production team, I am so grateful for the support and momentum it's given me to perform locally and across Canada! Nowadays, I'm splitting my time between Victoria and Vancouver, with more freedom to travel for gigs and workshops as the kids grow up and my husband has more flexibility to help with them.
I'm starting to work on new lyrics and securing funding for the next project. Don't be shy now, stay in touch via social media, or send me a note and let me know you're listening. The next more formal concerts will be in June at Hermann's and Frankie's with special guest, NYC pianist Ray Gallon. There are other gigs on the west coast in between, and I'm exploring whether I could take the music to other countries once the threat of the coronavirus has passed.
Make sure you're subscribed to my e-newsletter so I can send you a note and hopefully we will connect soon!
Want to know where I will be singing next?
CANCELLED Spring is in the Air at the Historic Sylvia Hotel
— —
Time to step out for a beach stroll followed by cocktails and a bite to eat at the waterside historic Sylvia Hotel. Angela Verbrugge and her champagne vocals will take you on a sentimental journey.
POSSIBLE ONLINE - Mentor at U-JAM Vocal Night with Tony Genge
— —
Reserve your spot to sing with the jazz trio online.
Vocal jazz trio in the piano lounge. Angela Verbrugge - Vocals Tony Genge - Piano John Lee - Bass
Maple Ridge: Angela at Golden Ears
— —
Golden Ears United Church, 22165 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge
The Angela Verbrugge Trio is back by popular demand to Golden Ears United. Last year, the performance with Tilden Webb and Steve Holy was a favourite of the seasonal lineup. See what everyone is talking about!
The friendliest church in Burnaby welcomes you to it's acoustically lovely space for a Jazz Vespers style service called Evensong. The Angela Verbrugge Quartet will perform 8 songs with thoughtful reflections by Rev Dr Brian Fraser as improvised interludes.
Theme: Story Through Song Angela Verbrugge, vocals Tony Genge, piano Louis Rudner, bass John Lee, drums
Date night! Or... girls' night. Come one come all, join the guests of the Sylvia Hotel, and neighbourhood regulars with a view of the ocean while you wine, dine and enjoy live music. No cover, free parking.
Tribute to the Great Lyricists (Angela Verbrugge with NYC Pianist Ray Gallon)
DetailsTBA
Private Garden Party
— —
Private Garden Party, Victoria
Angela Verbrugge is a jazz vocalist who "possesses a winsome, brightly burnished, pliable voice, ample emotional intelligence, considerable songwriting skills, and conspicuously good taste" (JazzTimes). "Her voice is both innocent and sulty and has playfulness that takes audiences on a journey," writes Neon Jazz. CBC Saturday Night Jazz played Angela's debut release shortly after it debuted at Number 1 for Jazz on iTunes Canada, and Laila Biali described: "There's so much joy in her delivery. You can just hear the smile in her voice." She was one of the youngest graduates in the history of top-rated Canadian performing arts college, George Brown School of Performing Arts (Toronto), after a youth spent studying piano and active on the arts scene of her birth city of Kingston, Ontario. She relocated to Vancouver in 1997. After having three kids and three close brushes with death, she followed her passion to vocal jazz, releasing her debut record in 2019 with piano trio backing from three veterans of the NYC Jazz scene: Ray Gallon (Lionel Hampton, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan), Cameron Brown (former Jazz Messenger) and Anthony Pinciotti (Stacey Kent, Dr Lonnie Smith). Award-winning vocal jazz history author, Wall Street Journal writer describes it as having a, "top-drawer arranging crew and cast of expert musicians", noting that " with a vocal sound that's full of depth and nuance - welcoming the light but without denying the existence of the darkness".