What are the “greatest” love songs ever written? Find out on Sunday, April 13, 2025 with a vocal jazz and vibraphone quartet performance at Char’s Landing in Port Alberni.
Vancouver Island jazz vocalist Angela Verbrugge will return to Char’s Landing, this time with Cellar Records recording artist Craig Scott, who will be dazzling audiences with his flying mallets on the vibraphone. Joining them will be inventive Nanaimo bassist Kosma Busheikin and jazz drummer Graham Villette, raised in Port Alberni and now based in Nanaimo.
The group will explore the greatest love songs ever written — at least according to them. Verbrugge says they will be mining from the songbooks of Cole Porter and Gershwin, Irving Berlin and the composers who wrote for vintage movie musicals. But they will also explore songs popularized by Sinatra and Tony Bennett, Julie London and Andy Williams, Ella Fitzgerald and Doris Day.
"I’ve noticed a resurgence of interest in this material as it’s discovered by the next generation through artists like Laufey and Samara Joy," said Verbrugge. "Material that is calm and joyful, and celebrates human connection through these turbulent times. There are many cute songs appearing every month on social media, but I feel many of the really epic love songs were written in the 1930s to 50s. Songs with the right balance of harmonic movement, touching lyrics, and melodies that take your heart on a roller coaster ride."
To explore the sound of that magnetic energy called love, recordings of the day often used strings and big band arrangements. For this performance, Verbrugge will be backed by vibraphone trio. The vibraphone was invented in the 1920s and became popular in jazz arrangements in the following decades. It is a percussion instrument similar to a xylophone, but with metal bars and motor-driven resonators that produce a sustained, shimmering tone with a pleasing vibrato when struck with mallets.
After spending 2024 on the road performing overseas and in Canada, Verbrugge was nominated for Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2024 Western Canadian Music Awards. Craig Scott, meanwhile, is one of Canada’s finest jazz drummers, vibraphone and percussion musicians, who has performed with artists like Diana Krall, Phil Woods, Bucky Pizzarelli, Clark Terry, the Hi-Los, Harry Sweets Edison, Natalie McMaster and even sentimental songstress herself Rosemary Clooney.
Charlene Patterson, the owner of Char’s Landing is expecting a full house for this performance.
“Angela’s concerts have been very popular and she is building an enthusiastic fan base here, crowding into our cozy seating area whenever she comes to town," said Patterson. "I am excited to hear vibraphone featured in our high ceilinged, acoustically rich space with Angela’s expressive voice and the talented rhythm section of Kosma and Graham.”
Entrance is by cash gratuity to the artists (suggested $20+). The bar will be open with a variety of beverages on offer. Accompanied minors are welcome. Attendees may bring their own snacks. There is free parking in the lot beside the hall.
The music runs from 6-8 p.m.
