With three successful studio projects and hundreds of club, concert, and festival dates to his credit, Toronto-based crooner VINCENT WOLFE continues to wow audiences in Canada and in the U.S. His talent has earned praise from revered jazz vocalists, including (the late) Marlena Shaw, Sheila Jordan, and jazz-soul diva Jean Carne. His voice has been described by Manhattan Transfer founding member Laurel Massé as “somewhere between Chet Baker and Mel Tormé — a wonderful place to be!”
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Admired for his warm, velvety vocals and relaxed charm, VINCENT WOLFE is also a natural storyteller. His playful patter before, during, and in between songs is often hilarious, as is his spontaneous interplay with both band and audience members as he invites the listener in, like a valued friend.
Vincent has toured the club and festival circuit in Canada and in select U.S. cities. He has also performed around the globe during his contracts aboard the world-famous Cunard luxury cruise line, appearing with the Queen’s Room Orchestra, the Chart Room jazz trio, the Royal Cunard Big Band, and later headlining with the Royal Court Theatre Orchestra.
Vincent Wolfe’s warm stage presence and extensive, eclectic repertoire is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, whether he’s in an intimate cabaret room, a swinging jazz club, or concertizing in a theatre setting. Renowned Canadian entertainment columnist John Kennedy once declared Vincent “Canada’s next star-in-waiting.”
Wolfe also has extensive experience as a backup singer, working with legendary US soul-jazz legends Jean Carne, the late Angela Bofill, Miki Howard, and Norman Connors. He was asked to be a part of the Canadian tour of “The Original Superstars of Jazz Fusion”, sharing the stage with Jean Carne, Lonnie Liston Smith, Roy Ayers, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Laws and the late, great Jon Lucien.
In 2008, Vincent was nominated for a prestigious MAC Award* for his New York City cabaret debut, enchanting audiences at the popular Laurie Beechman Theatre.
In 2011, Vincent was “rediscovered” by famed US bandleader/trumpeter Bob Cary (Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Sonny & Cher) and was added to the Bob Cary Orchestra as the lead male vocalist. They became the most talked-about big band in Toronto, performing at nightclubs around town like the Rex and the Seven44. Increasing their following, Vincent fronted the orchestra at concert venues such as The Old Mill, Kee to Bala and Mel Lastman Square.
As word got around, Wolfe became the “go-to guy” for guesting with other big bands, including Swing Shift, Toronto Sounds Big Band, the Uptown Swing Band, the Vegas North Orchestra, and the George Lake Big Band, with whom he has been singing permanently for the last decade.
The global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 obviously changed the entire entertainment industry (as well as everything else on the planet) and it took some time for Vincent to recover, regroup, and return to performing. Happily, he’s back doing what he does best with a big band, a quartet or a trio.
His most recent recording is a single with the Minimalist Big Band, covering the Nat King Cole classic “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home,” which received extensive airplay on Jazz FM Toronto’s Big Band program with Glen Woodcock.
* Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs