Angela Verbrugge

Presented by: Arts On View Society with Angela Verbrugge, Ryan Oliver, Tony Genge, and Graham Villette An evening of sultry swing, lunar ballads, and a hint of Halloween haunt. Suggested dress code: “Black & Sparkle” or costume of your choice, or simply masquerade as a normal person for a night. 😉 There’s nothing sweeter than vocal jazz, or spookier than soul-stealing sax! Enjoy the thrilling thumps and squeals of jazz organ, backed up by the tap tap tap of ghostly grooves. In one moment, the band will hit the minor swing hard, in the next, they’ll take you to the stars with some moonlight romance. Angela Verbrugge - vocals Ryan Oliver - sax Tony Genge - organ Graham Villette - drums Angela Verbrugge Angela Verbrugge was recognized as Best Female Vocalist in the JazzTimes Readers' Poll (USA, 2020) and was nominated for Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards. Angela’s standout original songs in the style of the Great American Songbook received praise in Jazzwise, Couleurs France, Syncopated Times, Jersey Jazz, LA Jazz Scene and global publications. In 2024, Origin Records (top 10 jazz labels, Downbeat Magazine) released Angela’s album of standards, “Somewhere”. Her 2022 release, "Love for Connoisseurs" features Angela's original lyrics, compositions, arrangements and songwriting collaborations with respected New York City composers. Her career has grown rapidly since her 2019 debut album, "The Night We Couldn't Say Good Night". Born in Kingston, Ontario, Angela was one of the youngest graduates of the respected acting program at George Brown College. After moving west, she broke both legs in a car accident, and pursued a business career before returning to performing after beating cancer. She has appeared at top jazz clubs internationally in the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Taiwan, Luxembourg, Türkiye and coast to coast in Canada. Angela’s performances and songwriting have included Juno-winners/nominees, Order of Canada, Grammy nominated and German Jazz Prize recipients. Ryan Oliver Juno-nominated Saxophonist Ryan Oliver steeped his concept and artistry in the creative fires of Amsterdam, honed his craft in Toronto and New York City before returning to BC. For over 15 years, Oliver toured the world with legendary Canadian jazz group the Shuffle Demons along with performing with a who's who of the Canadian jazz scene. He was nominated for the Prix De Jazz at the Montreal Jazz Festival and the 2023 Western Canadian Music Awards "Jazz Artist of the Year". Dr Tony Genge (PhD, Music) has shared the stage with an international who’s who; his cool and swinging style references the great jazz piano tradition of pianists such Ahmad Jamal, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Horace Silver and Les McCann. He’s a frequent performer at Hermann’s and leading Canadian venues, and previously taught jazz and music studies at St Francis Xavier. Graham Villette Graham earned a Masters’ Degree in Jazz Performance from The University of Toronto after completing a BA in Jazz Studies at Vancouver Island University in 2017. Having grown up on Vancouver Island, Graham is an active member of the music community as both a freelance musician and bandleader where you’ll hear him at leading BC venues including Hermann’s, Frankie’s, leading jazz series and festivalswith some of the best musicians around including Cory Weeds, Joe Magnarelli, Akiko Tsuruga, Tony Genge, Ryan Oliver, John Lee, Rick Kilburn, Ashley Wey, and Kinga Hemming, and he is frequently found performing with the John Lee Trio.