Deb Rasmussen

Canadian jazz vocalist and songwriter Deb Rasmussen has been enchanting audiences for 20 years. Deb often takes a soft, understated approach to a song, but make no mistake, she can swing! She’s known for her spacious, playful interpretations of standards, performing her own tunes, and for the way she makes time stand still as she connects heart-to-heart with listeners. A proud continuator of the jazz tradition, Deb counts among her influences Carmen McCrae and Abbey Lincoln, and gives back to jazz with her work on the Board of JazzYYC, Calgary’s jazz collaborative. Deb has studied with vocal jazz greats including Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts as well as with Nancy King, Dee Daniels, Cheryl Fisher and Madeline Eastman. Deb sings with a variety of small combos in her hometown of Calgary, but her talent has taken her to venues across Canada and as far afield as China and Mongolia. Deb’s long-time collaboration with the late jazz guitarist Keith Smith is highlighted in her first album – Heart Wide Open. On Northern Lights — Altai Khangai, she adds her vocals to a unique mix of jazz and Mongolian traditional music. Her new release, UNSPOKEN, takes you on a musical and emotional journey through the parts and types of love we often leave unspoken. It features new compositions and her partnership with Calgary jazz pianist Jon Day. They are joined by bassist Jeremy Coates, and drummer Robin Tufts. The album was developed through a remote collaboration in 2020 and 2021 and recorded at Studio D in Calgary in January 2022. When she’s not singing, Deb works as an agricultural economist in countries from Sierra Leone to Mongolia.

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