Angela Verbrugge and Ray Gallon bring “Gershwin, Porter, ‘n Me” at the Wolfe Island Hotel on Friday, June 5th from 6 pm to 8:30 pmEntrance by gratuity to the musicians. Suggested donation $20 to 30pp https://hotelwolfeisland.com/events/angela-verbrugge-gershwin-porter-n-me/ Western Canadian Music Awards ‘Jazz Artist of the Year’ nominee Angela (Clancy) Verbrugge brings Gershwin- and Cole Porter-era standards to life with her signature charm. A finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, Verbrugge weaves in the timeless standards with her own Canadian jazz compositions and lyrics. The Kingston-born, Amherstview-raised, Vancouver Island-based artist is described as “both hip and a hoot” (JazzWeekly), and has toured in Japan, Hong Kong, S. Korea, Taiwan, Türkiye, the UK, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy, and coast to coast in Canada — all since 2021! She has released four albums to great reviews from the international jazz press, topped polls in JazzTimes and All About Jazz, and is regularly played on leading jazz radio programs. Her recorded songs have been streamed almost a million times across platforms. Her early influences include her Kingston friends Bob Ayre, Andy Poole, Paul Chabot, and Murray Wilson. Backed by a stellar pianist —New York City based, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Ray Gallon, recognized recently for his recordings as a leader with the likes of Ron Carter, Lewis Nash and Kenny Washington that Angela associate-produced. Ray has been professional Jazz Pianist living in New York City for 45 years. He got his start being mentored by Hank Jones, John Lewis (the Modern Jazz Quartet) and Jaki Byard. As a young man, he started touring with Lionel Hampton (there’s a video of him with Hamp at the Montreal Jazz Fest still on YouTube) accompanying him and some of the most famous names in jazz such as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan, Gloria Lynn, Dakota Staton, and touring with the Harper Bros, TS Monk, George Adams in venues including the White House and Kennedy Center. This is a true working jazz musician playing on average four gigs a week in NYC year-round for decades with a touch and breath of vocabulary that only that much experience brings (even just search his name in the SmallsLive archive!). He is a professor at City College of New York in Harlem, and has also been called upon by other programs such as the New School, Vermont Jazz Center, and was Sheila Jordan’s preferred accompanist for her workshops. Ray and Angela have amazing musical chemistry that is best experienced live, so don’t miss their debut playing Hotel Wolfe Island and for those of you who have heard them at RCHA, hearing Ray on a baby Grand. |