Heather Bambrick

JUNO-nominated vocalist Heather Bambrick prides herself on being an entertainer through and through – from her skillful, effortless interaction with audiences, her humour and strong story-telling ability (part of her Newfoundland heritage), to her musicianship and variety of material.  This is why her concerts have rightfully been described as “Ella Fitzgerald meets Carol Burnett at a Newfoundland kitchen party.”

Critics and industry professionals alike place Heather on the top rung of the musical ladder.  “Heather hits every right note”, says Mark Rheume of CBC Radio. WholeNote Magazine calls her “one of the finest jazz singers in this country”, and All About Jazz says her voice is a “paragon of clarity” and that “she’s the real deal in every way.”

As one of Canada’s top Jazz vocalists, Heather has collaborated with internationally acclaimed artists, including Phil Nimmons, Fred Hirsch, Gene DiNovi, Guido Basso, Ann Hampton Callaway, Carol Welsman, Jackie Richardson, Ian Shaw, as well as the late Rob McConnell and Peter Appleyard. She’s a founding member of vocal ensembles The Beehive Singers and Broadsway and has appeared as a guest performer with numerous Jazz ensembles, as well as with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

Heather has released four solo recordings, each of which received an East Coast Music Award nomination for Jazz Recording of the Year. Her 2017 release, You’ll Never Know, was also nominated for a JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.  She’s been a guest artist on several diverse recording projects, from those of the Caliban Bassoon Quartet, to Sophisticated Ladies (the final recording of Jazz great Peter Appleyard), and Just Passing Through (the award-winning recording from the Breithaupt Brothers) and was honoured with Canada’s National Jazz Award for Vocalist of the Year.

Never one to wear a single hat, Heather is one of Canada’s busiest voice actors, heard on national commercial campaigns, as well as on several Emmy Award-winning animation series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Justin Time, and others.  She is also an award-winning broadcaster, hosting and producing shows on JAZZ.FM91 in Toronto for almost 20 years. Heather is a two-time winner of the National Jazz Awards Broadcaster of the Year, a three-time nominee for NOW Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Radio Personality and was recently named Best On-Air Host (Music Format) at the 2020 Canadian Radio Awards.  Along with all of this, she is in demand as an adjudicator/clinician at schools and music festivals across Canada.  She also sits on the Board of Directors for SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival, is Co-Chair of the CARAS Jazz Screening Committee, and is a member of the Advisory Council for Music Canada.

As Heather puts it, “I love – and am grateful to be – doing a lot of different things, all of which bring me creative fulfillment. The fact that I can do all of this and pay the bills makes me proud to be a member of the Canadian Arts Community.”