OA2 Artist

No maybes; for Verbrugge, now is definitely the time.
JazzTimes

​​Writing original Canadian lyrics and music that combines the sensibilities of bebop, vintage movie musicals, and the Great American songbook, jazz vocalist Angela Verbrugge has emerged as one of Western Canada's busiest performers. Since winning the JazzTimes' Magazine poll for Best Female Vocalist in 2020, the charismatic musician has toured her romantic, humorous and inventive songwriting to top venues for jazz in Japan, the UK, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey. She released her debut album, recorded in NYC in 2019, and followed it up proving her skills as a lyricist and composer with an all-original project in 2022. Positive reviews from top international publications in jazz singled out her projects as "head and shoulders above the usual barrage of vocal jazz albums" (JazzLives).

Angela's third album, Somewhere, is coming out in May 2024 on OA2 Records (Seattle, USA). Both Angela's albums were included in LA Jazz Journal/DownBeat critic Scott Yanow's top albums of the year list, and he predicts that her songs may become standards in the future.

Angela is primarily influenced by the swing era, vintage musicals, and bebop. WSJ writer Will Friedwald describes her unique instrument as "a vocal sound that's full of depth and nuance - welcoming the light without denying the darkness." She has appeared at the festivals and jazz clubs in Canada, and top jazz clubs internationally in London, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Luxembourg, Tokyo, and across Japan.

Verbrugge has performed with Grammy-winning/nominated, Juno-winning/nominated and/or Order of Canada recipients. Her ensembles have included Neil Swainson, Reg Schwager, Terry Clarke, Lauren Falls, Jodi Proznick, Buff Allen, Miles Black, renowned NYC musicians Ray Gallon, Cameron Brown, and she has shared the stage with top international musicians including Thomas Stabenow, Xaver Hellemeir, Hiroko Mase, Akane Matsumoto and Takashi Sugawara.

Angela was one of the youngest graduates from Toronto's George Brown College School of Performing Arts in Theatre Studies after a youth spent in Kingston, Ontario. She relocated permanently to Vancouver in 1997, and has resided on Vancouver Island since 2019. Angela is a mother to three teens. Verbrugge began intensive jazz studies in 2012 after she had three brushes with death including being diagnosed with cancer in 2010. She began her professional career with the release of her 2019 debut album.

RECORDINGS FEATURING Angela Verbrugge

Angela Verbrugge

Somewhere

OA2 Records 22228