Alex Pangman
Biography
ALEX PANGMAN (vocalist, mandolin-player, pianist, guitarist) was born on September 4, 1976 in Mississauga, Ontario. Although she did not formally study singing, she has been vocally celebrating the music of the late 1920s, the 1930s, and early 1940s for more than a decade when hot music and beautiful ballads first caught the attention of her young ears. She has long been a favourite of jazz fans and dancers alike and has become one of Canada's leading classic jazz and traditional-swing vocalists.
She released her successful debut album They Say in 1999 on Sensation Records, and her follow up recording, You Can’t Stop Me from Dreaming in 2001. Both recordings feature production/guitar/trumpet by internationally renowned Jeff Healey, who shared Pangman’s passion for early jazz. With her 2005 release of the Live in Montreal album, she again captured the essence of that classic era of song writing and toe-tapping performance with her band of young lions, The Alleycats.
With influences ranging from Connie Boswell to Louis Armstrong and Valaida Snow, Pangman channels no particular singer although it's clear she's heard her fair share of 78s. In 2006 Pangman put her interest in old pieces of shellac to the test when she released her very own 78 rpm of The Dead Drunks Blues as a fundraising effort for Hurricane Katrina victims. Following that was her full length (and reviewed to raves) Christmas Gift which benefited the Trillium Organ Donor Foundation.
Pangman has played many of the main stage festivals in Canada including the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Toronto and Beaches Festivals, Victoria, Markham, Oakville, and Ottawa Jazz Festivals, and made national television appearances on shows including TVO’s Studio 2, Open Mike with Mike Bullard, Canada AM and Vinyl Cafeacute;. She has appeared with The Royal Jelly Orchestra, Dan Barrett, Jim Galloway, Tyler Yarema, Ross Wooldridge, Denzal Sinclaire, and many others. She has also made guest appearances on the recordings of the RJO, The Bebop Cowboys, and The Kevin Clark Trio, and in 2002, opened in live concert for celebrated comedian Bob Newhart. In 2009, following a successful double lung transplant Alex has returned to performing including a guest appearance on Terra Hazelton’s 2009 CD, “Gimme Whatcha Got” and her own CD release “Lickin’ Good Fried”.
Alex Pangman was a featured performer on JAZZ.FM91’s annual live jazz showcase, Jazz Lives, on a playbill that included John Pizzarelli, Peter Appleyard, Phil Nimmons, Holly Cole, and Michael Kaeshammer. Her band, Alex Pangman and Her Alleycats, performed in concert at the Ontario Science Centre during the JAZZ.FM91 Sound of Toronto Jazz Series on January 14, 2005.
Her 2013 release, Have A Little Fun, features a mixure of classic and original songs.
In 2014, Pangman released New on JustinTIme Records. The album was recorded in New Orleans after her double lung transplant.
Awards:
Alex Pangman is a three-time National Jazz Awards Nominee, twice as “Jazz Vocalist of the Year” and once for “Best Original Song”.
