Western Canadian Music Awards ‘Jazz Artist of the Year’ nominee Angela Verbrugge brings Gershwin- and Cole Porter-era standards to life with her signature charm. A finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, Verbrugge weaves in timeless stories of the heart with her own Canadian jazz compositions and lyrics.

The 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.

Backed by New York City Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Ray Gallon, and special guest saxophonist Craig Thomson (sax) — you can expect a warm, witty, and uplifting performance featuring beloved classics and new favourites delivered with irresistible musical chemistry. Book your ticket now for an unforgettable evening of jazz standards, original Canadian lyrics, and heartfelt music for Angela and Ray’s debut in Kelowna.

Angela Verbrugge (vocals)

Vancouver Island vocalist Angela Verbrugge was nominated for Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards. In 2025, All About Jazz announced that Verbrugge had topped their Reader Poll for Jazz Vocalist and in 2020 Angela won the JazzTimes’ Readers’ Poll for Best Female Vocalist. She “possesses a winsome, brightly-burnished, pliable voice, ample emotional intelligence, and conspicuously good taste. Angela’s four albums feature standout arrangements of standards and original songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. The projects received praise in All About Jazz, JazzTimes, Jazzwise, Couleurs France, Syncopated Times, Jersey Jazz, LA Jazz Scene and publications around the world leading to tours to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, S. Korea, Türkiye, the UK, Germany, France, Luxembourg and eight provinces — all since 2021. Her music has charted on JazzWeek, been featured by CBC and NPR, and she held the number one spot on the Earshot Jazz charts for multiple weeks. Angela’s tracks have been streamed a million times across streaming platforms since her debut in 2019.

Ray Gallon (piano)

To listen to pianist Ray Gallon is to take a journey through the great lineage of jazz piano from its inception all the way up to the cutting-edge present. His playing is imbued with the vocabulary, sensibilities and soul of the very architects of the jazz artform. Born, raised and living his whole life in Manhattan, NYC pianist Ray Gallon has been a mainstay on the jazz scene for over thirty-five years. Rooted in bebop and blues, his expressive, swingin’ playing melds old and new into a fresh, original style. As a young player, Ray was taken under the wing of piano giants John Lewis, Hank Jones, and Jaki Byard. He has performed at major jazz festivals and venues around the world with such luminaries as Ron Carter, Lionel Hampton, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, George Adams, Les Paul, and Wycliffe Gordon. Ray has appeared at the White House and the Kennedy Center, sharing the stage with jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, Sweets Edison, and Joe Williams. An in-demand accompanist, he has worked with many vocal greats, including Jon Hendricks, Sheila Jordan, Dakota Staton, Gloria Lynne, Jane Monheit and Chaka Khan. Ray’s Cellar Live recordings include such luminaries as Kenny Washington, Ron Carter, and Lewis Nash, and Ahmad Jamal called his recorded work “extraordinary”.

Craig Thomson (guest saxophonist)

Saxophonist Craig Thomson is an award-winning musician and respected educator based in Kelowna. He is the artistic

Director of the BC Interior Jazz Festival. He has been honoured as Okanagan Musician of the Year, and the Greater Westside Board of Trade’s Performing Artist of the Year. Craig is in-demand as an educator and clinician in Canada and the US. He is a frequent performer in jazz, blues, and adjacent styles both live and as an in-demand side musician for recording projects. Craig’s album of original compositions as a leader reached listeners on leading jazz programs on CBC and beyond.