Angela Verbrugge: Somewhere

Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Angela Verbrugge keeps a busy schedule as a singer, touring in Canada and farther afield. In addition to performing, she writes songs—jazz songs, new standards—with lyrics that are engagingly personal and funny, containing the occasional acerbic twist. As a lyricist, she often speaks to the quotidian. Her texts are a perfect match for pianist Ray Gallon's boppish compositions. On "Enough's Enough" (Love for Connoisseurs, Gut String Records, 2022), she takes a sloppy lover to task with refreshing directness ("when you leave your stuff everywhere it really drives me nuts"). In her relatable "I'm Running Late" (The Night We Couldn't Say Good Night, Gut String Records, 2019), she gives an inner monologue replete with procrastination ("just a quick bite to eat"), unfortunate circumstance ("I saw my old boyfriend"), self-recrimination ("should have left 10 minutes ago") and increasingly-unlikely excuses ("stopped to donate blood; there is a shortage"). There is a bit of Blossom Dearie in her persona and a dollop of Dave Frishberg. Her endearing "Corn on the Cob" resonates with Frishberg's "Sweet Kentucky Ham, perhaps with an arch soupçon of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Wonderful Guy."

With Somewhere, Verbrugge focuses on "truths of the heart," as the liner notes affirm. At the center of the set is her own "Je Ne Veux Pas Te Dire Bonsoir," an ardent Latin jazz ballad with a nice melodic turn on the bridge ("l'amour est dangereux, je ne peux contrôler que si peu"). The tune, which she first recorded on The Night We Couldn't Say Good Night, has the feel of a cabaret standard, but danceable. (Check the YouTube, below.) Fans drawn to her voice as a songwriter may discover with some disappointment that the remainder of the program contains none of her lively originals. Instead, she chooses Great American Songbook and jazz selections, including Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "Somewhere" (an undeniable gem of the repertoire) as the title track. She presents several tunes with verses that are less often heard: Harry Warren and Mack Gordon's "I Had the Craziest Dream"; the Gershwin brothers' enduring "For You, For Me, Forevermore"; Bernie Hanighen and Paul Cates' "If the Moon Turns Green," which Billie Holiday put on the map in 1952 (Solitude, Clef Records). And she renders thoughtfully re-melodized second choruses on "I Had the Craziest Dream" and "Born to Be Blue" (Mel Torme, Robert Wells).

As in previous releases, Verbrugge has put together two first-rate musical teams for the project, one in New York and one in Western Canada: pianists Gallon and Miles Black, bassists Cameron Brown and Jodi Proznick, drummers Anthony Pinciotti and Joel Fountain , along with saxophonist Dave Say. Everyone contributes with heart and craft.

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