Teresa Doyle

Early reviews for Song Road


“There’s beauty and plenty for all,” sings Teresa Doyle in her accomplished and life-affirming new album, Song Road, a line that also aptly describes the disc itself. — John Goddard, Toronto Star
“Working with Jaron Freeman-Fox has brought a new vibrancy to the already exquisite sound that Teresa has created in previous recordings. Teresa has always had great production but the production and arranging on Song Road by Freeman-Fox is the finest to date - production that is meaningful and beautifully serves the music. Teresa is always upping her game, her songwriting is digging deeper with worldly influences that go well beyond the Celts.“ Tom Coxworth CKUA Folk Routes
“Traditional celtic, folk, jazz, country, Teresa can sing it all, with a voice pure as sunshine. I just saw Teresa's Hugh's Room show and she hit it out of the park!”
Derek Andrews www.globalcafe.ca

“Sitting listening to a near packed house performance by Teresa was one of my most memorable Hugh's Room concerts and I've attended about 2500 of them. It was like she brought the island with her in a music box and opened it up for all to share. Magic!”
Holmes Hooke, Booking Hugh's Room

“Teresa Doyle is breathing some fresh air into Canadian Celtic music. Sure, she she sings about hoping the boats come in safely from the sea and about a woman who has a vision of the storm of the century in 1923 and does her share of Irish 'scat singing' and a song from the Outer Hebrides in Gaelic. But there's more than the usual Celtic fare, much more.

Teresa has travelled the world from her native Prince Edward Island, and using her voice as an instrument, has sung with Kenyan farm women, Tibetan overtone singers, New York street musicians – and all those influences are on this disc. She even sings in Spanish and has a huge dynamic and range in her vocals.
This is done with fearless production and musicianship of Jaron Freeman-Fox, who has inherited the job from his mentor, the late Oliver Schroer. Freeman-Fox is following in Schroer's footsteps as a marvellous fiddlr and some of his orchestration on both voices and instruments verges on the brilliant. The collaboration between Doyle and Freeman-Fox has created some magic.” Mike Sadava, Penguin Eggs
Your performance at the Folk Alliance was inspirational, heartwarming and welcoming!
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“Teresa Doyle is deservedly becoming a Canadian Treasure! Get to know this award winning artist well! On her latest CD Song Road, Teresa brings her worldwide experiences in songwriting and her outstanding vocals to the mix. Jaron Freeman-Fox adds his expertise as a musician and producer to make this CD one of the gems of 2013. A genuine musical journey worth exploring!! Brilliant; worthy of worldwide acclaim"
Jim Marino Freewheeling Folk Show 93.3 CFMU cfmu.mcmaster.ca Hamilton On. Can.
“Song Road, an exploration of sound through new landscape, takes us out of ourselves and into realms that invoke our curiosity to explore beyond our reach. We are more than who we think we are. Teresa Doyle and Jaron Freeman-Fox’s shimmering, gifted offering proves that.” |Mae Moore |singer-songwriter, artist-activist
"Teresa Doyle's latest record Song Road provides us with a wonderful sonic adventure. Stylistically diverse it is all held together by Teresa' s interpretive vocals and world map influenced songwriting. No fast forwarding here but rather repeated listens."
Grady Poe, artist manager

"I always look forward a new album from Prince Edward Island singer Teresa Doyle. Her latest, Song Road, may be the best in a recording career that extends back twenty years".
Stan Carew, C.B.C. Weekend Morning
- various

?????“Teresa Doyle is breathing some fresh air into Canadian Celtic music. Sure, she she sings about hoping the boats come in safely from the sea and about a woman who has a vision of the storm of the century in 1923 and does her share of Irish 'scat singing' and a song from the Outer Hebrides in Gaelic. But there's more than the usual Celtic fare, much more.

Teresa has travelled the world from her native Prince Edward Island, and using her voice as an instrument, has sung with Kenyan farm women, Tibetan overtone singers, New York street musicians – and all those influences are on this disc. She even sings in Spanish and has a huge dynamic and range in her vocals.
This is done with fearless production and musicianship of Jaron Freeman-Fox, who has inherited the job from his mentor, the late Oliver Schroer. Freeman-Fox is following in Schroer's footsteps as a marvellous fiddler and some of his orchestration on both voices and instruments verges on the brilliant. The collaboration between Doyle and Freeman-Fox has created some magic.” Mike Sadava, Penguin Eggs - Penguin Eggs

Teresa Doyle’s latest recording project, Late Night Parlour, is a collection of swing tunes from the forties and Teresa’s own commentary on life, love and tea. The recording was co-produced by David Rashed and Teresa, and features some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians, many of them living on PEI. The guitarist Ian Toms and bassist Ross MacDonald joined Teresa for all of the tracks. Alan Dowling is on drum kit. Dan St. Amand wrote the horn parts and plays flugelhorn. PEI Symphony Orchestra conductor Jamie Mark contributes alto saxophone and bass clarinet. Ben Grossman, percussionist for Loreena MacKennitt, plays percussion and the Mike Murley plays tenor saxophone on four tracks. The recording will be available in Island stores, at www.teresadoyle.com and at the Charlottetown Farmers Market in mid-December. Teresa heads out on tour in January and returns to PEI for the record launch and a performance at The Confederation Centre on February 15. She is the guest for this year’s Pops concert with the PEI Symphony Orchestra. The Late Night Parlour Band are performing New Year’s Eve at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside. - The Buzz, PEI

The Harbourfront Theatre is offering a new option for those wishing to paint the town this New Year’s Eve—a festive holiday gala with food, drink and dancing—all on their stage, which is undergoing some modifications for the occasion.

Maurice Gallant, general manager of the Summerside venue, describes the event and the transformation. “This gala is an opportunity to dress up, come out and enjoy some gourmet food and fabulous swing music and welcome the new year in a very unique atmosphere.We are building a custom, removable stage appendage which will extend out over approximately the first ten rows of seats. This will allow us the room for the band, table seating and a dance floor.”

“We’ll have music by Teresa Doyle and the Late Night Parlour Jazz Band,” continues Gallant, “gourmet hors d’oeuvres served at each table all evening long, and a champagne toast at midnight to ring in 2009.”

A maximum of 200 tickets will be sold for the Harbourfront New Year’s Eve soiree, and Gallant says one of the highlights of the evening will be the magical surroundings.

“A theatre stage offers abundant opportunity to take advantage of props and special lighting effects, to create a truly unique and beautiful atmosphere in which to celebrate.We’re very excited about this one-of-a-kind event, and encourage those who wish to join us to get their tickets soon.” - The Buzz, PEI

It was about this time last year that well-adored Island singer/songwriter, vocal teacher and artist Teresa Doyle was getting ready to head down south to the island of Tobago with her husband and son for three weeks.

Being an intuitive person, perhaps Doyle knew somehow that this trip would spawn new inspiration, as she regularly played music with the locals and even found the title of her new CD — Late Night Parlour. It was the name of the mountainside rum shack where she jammed the night away with soca musicians, high above Perlatuvier Bay.

Recorded throughout the latter part of 2008 by engineer/producer David Rashed in Charlottetown, the 11-track CD includes a lovely mélange of Doyle’s own quirky jazzy compositions intertwined with ’40s swing-era classics.

As always, Doyle assembled some of the best musicians around to back her up: Mike Murley on tenor sax, Alan Dowling on drums, Ross MacDonald on bass, Dan St. Amand on horns, Ben Grossman on percussion, Ian Toms on guitar and James Mark on bass clarinet and alto sax.

And her collaboration with that final musician mentioned helped bring about the fruition of the event that took place last Sunday on the mainstage of Confederation Centre of the Arts: Teresa Doyle’s launch of Late Night Parlour as a special guest of the Prince Edward Island Symphony, conducted by Mark.

Before we were jazzily whisked away to more tropical late-night lands, however, we first had the chance to musically indulge in the splendour of our Canadian winter with the symphony’s world premiere performance of a brand new piece called Perce-neige, by Antoine Ouellette.

Visiting P.E.I. for the occasion, the Quebec composer was seated in the centre of the theatre, happily transfixed on his creation coming to life before his ears, surrounded by a two-thirds full audience that was just as engaged.

You could have heard a snowflake fall upon the stage as the symphony began, save for the entrance of violins, seeping into life with a chorus of high whistles of wind.

The piece itself centres around the transition point between winter and spring: that familiar interplay — an always-intriguing season push-and-pull that sees the foothold of winter reluctantly succumbing to the melting tides of spring’s rejuvenation.

And every moment of the 15-minute long performance was absolutely gripping in its serene chaos. Indeed, to the listener, it was akin to watching a month-long video in fastforward of a snow-covered forest-side valley experiencing its procession into spring.

Not an easy piece to execute well, the symphony performed it brilliantly. Highlight parts were the ominous horn section wintry bellows, the pounding storm tympanis and the chirping bird flute, which, fittingly, and gloriously, had the last laugh in its final beautiful, echoing note.

“And now ladies and gentlemen,” spoke Mark, “along with guitarist Ian Toms, bassist Melissa Andrew and drummer Dave Shephard, our Island treasure, Teresa Doyle.”

The jazz trio laid down a sensuous Latin-fused intro, as Doyle shone in a relaxed smile, poised to beam us from snow to sun: “Late night parlour, moonlight on the harbour, in that late night parlour, I’ll meet you there,” she sang in the chorus of the CD’s title track.

Effortlessly gliding from phrase to phrase, Doyle’s voice sounded as pure and easy as we’ve come to know it to be. But, watching her closely on this afternoon, I realized this: Doyle’s relationship with her voice is more like a vastly experienced player-to-an-instrument — in her incredible ability to wield it in whatever way she pleases, knowing it like the back of her hand and therefore using it to its ultimate potential on any given note.

She seemed especially happily at home, too, in front of the grand orchestra behind her. And yet, all I was wishing for at times was to be in an old afterhours cabaret bar, a drink in my hand, dancing into the night with my sweetheart. The afternoon theatre atmosphere almost seemed too stifling for these carefree tunes.

But I certainly appreciated the big band accompaniment with songs like All the Cats Join In, No Moon at All and Doyle’s original, Dance Me Outside.

And to have Mark turn around and do a tenor sax solo and then step back to the podium to continue conducting was just too cool.

The symphony finished off the afternoon of music with Grand Canyon Suite, which was, once again, a great delight for the senses. Having experienced a ride into the canyon on horseback a few years ago, the On the Trail movement, complete with donkey clipclops on the woodblock, brought back gorgeous memories of scenery (and reminiscent aches to my posterior).

To find Doyle’s new CD, head to www.teresadoyle. com, where you can listen to some great cuts, check out material from her nine other successful recordings, and maybe be whisked away to a Tobago rum shack in the process. - Todd MacLean, The Guardian

On Sunday, February 15, the PEI Symphony Orchestra’s 41th season continues with Between Sun and Snow. In keeping with this year’s theme of community, critically acclaimed Island vocalist Teresa Doyle will join the PEISO and Conductor Dr. Jamie Mark on the Mainstage of the Confederation Centre.

Each year, the PEISO tries to find an accomplished soloist for the Pops Concert. Teresa Doyle performs music drawn from a number of musical genres. Her albums include a collection of ancient sacred music, three successful Celtic children’s albums, and a live jazz recording. She has earned two Juno nominations, and won both East Coast Music Awards and the 2007 Victor Martin Lynch-Staunton award, which recognizes artistic excellence.

Teresa says, “It is an honour to be the invited guest of the Symphony and the timing is wonderful. [Symphony musician] Dan St. Amand wrote the horn parts for my album, and he and conductor Jamie Mark recorded them.”

Teresa Doyle will be joined on stage by guitarist Ian Toms. They will play a number of selections with the orchestra, including a Celtic piece and a number of jazz tunes from Ms. Doyle’s new album Late Night Parlour. Many of the songs on the album were written by Ms. Doyle and all of the concert selections were scored by James Mark.

In keeping with the sun and snow theme, other concert selections include the Antoine Ouellette’s Perce-Neige, a piece that evokes the Quebec countryside. Ouellette, a Québécois musicologist and music professor, has composed more than forty works, including pieces for the flute, organ, and Celtic harp. He will be attending the concert for the premiere of his work. The Grand Canyon Suite is by American composer Ferde Grofe. The five movements include: Sunrise; Painted Desert; On the Trail, which suggests the feeling of riding on a donkey; Sunset; and Cloudburst.

The concert, which begins at 2:30 pm, will be preceded at 1:15 pm by a preconcert talk in the Studio Theatre. Concert goers interested in supporting the PEISO annual citrus sale will be able to purchase fresh apples, oranges, and grapefruits in the Centre lobby throughout the afternoon.

This is the official release of Teresa’s new recording Late Night Parlour and Teresa and the P.E.I.S.O. invite you to the afternoon concert and more jazz to follow at a reception at Mavor’s starting at 4:30 pm. www.teresadoyle.com - The Buzz, PEI

With only a few days left before her performance on the mainstage of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, Teresa Doyle is deep in rehearsal mode.

On Sunday, the awardwinning P.E.I. singer will perform selections from her new CD, Late Night Parlour, as the guest soloist of the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) at 2:30 p.m.

“I’m preparing for the concert by singing a lot, listening to the album and trying to keep a good voice. But most of all, I’m trying not catch the flu,” says Doyle, relaxing over a bowl of hot soup in a sunny restaurant in downtown Charlottetown.

For her, the real fun begins Saturday morning when she arrives at the centre to begin rehearsals with the PEISO, under the direction of James Mark. Then there’s a dress rehearsal Sunday morning to further polish the material before Sunday’s performance.

“I’m excited about it. It’s going to be fun,” she says.

It’s not the first time Doyle has been backed up by such a large band. She performed with the PEISO as a guest soloist 15 years ago.

“I’ll never forget the feeling of the momentum of that many people playing together. It felt like being tied to the front of a train. This time I’ll be much more relaxed.”

One of the reasons Doyle is feeling comfortable is that she’ll have guitarist Ian Toms at her side.

“He’s my right hand person, one of the best jazz guitar players in the country,” says Doyle, who has just returned from a successful tour of Ontario and Quebec.

The second reason is that the conductor has taken an active involvement in her music. Not only is Mark doing the orchestral arrangements of her music for Sunday’s concert, he has performed with her in the past.

“One day at the Charlottetown Farmer’s Market, I ran into Jamie and Penny Mark and invited him to sit in on a jazz series that I was doing at the P.E.I. Preserves Company in New Glasgow last summer,” says Doyle.

Mark, a gifted clarinet and saxophone player, not only sat in three times, he performed on her new CD and became part of her Late Night Parlour Jazz band during the New Year’s Eve gala at the Harbourfront Theatre.

“I’m looking forward to the concert. It should be a lot of fun,” says Mark.

PEISO president Heather Doran is also excited. “I’m thrilled that Teresa Doyle is performing with the PEISO on Sunday. We are very excited that one of P.E.I.’s most talented vocalists will be bringing her style of Celtic music and jazz to the stage,” she says.

Doyle’s performance is part of the larger program entitled Between Sun and Snow, which features Antoine Ouellette’s Perce- Neige, a piece that evokes the Quebec countryside. The Québécois musicologist and music professor, who has composed more than 40 works will be in attendance for the premiere of his work. The orchestra will also perform The Grand Canyon Suite is by American composer Ferde Grofe.

“It’s going to be one of the orchestra’s most eclectic programs. It’s fun to see different genres of music coming together in a pops concert setting,” says Mark. - Sally Cole, The Guardian

On Sunday, February 15, the PEI Symphony Orchestra’s 41th season continues with Between Sun and Snow. In keeping with this year’s theme of community, critically acclaimed Island vocalist Teresa Doyle will join the PEISO and Conductor Dr. Jamie Mark on the Mainstage of the Confederation Centre.

Each year, the PEISO tries to find an accomplished soloist for the Pops Concert. Teresa Doyle performs music drawn from a number of musical genres. Her albums include a collection of ancient sacred music, three successful Celtic children’s albums, and a live jazz recording. She has earned two Juno nominations, and won both East Coast Music Awards and the 2007 Victor Martin Lynch-Staunton award, which recognizes artistic excellence.

Teresa says, “It is an honour to be the invited guest of the Symphony and the timing is wonderful. [Symphony musician] Dan St. Amand wrote the horn parts for my album, and he and conductor Jamie Mark recorded them.”

Teresa Doyle will be joined on stage by guitarist Ian Toms. They will play a number of selections with the orchestra, including a Celtic piece and a number of jazz tunes from Ms. Doyle’s new album Late Night Parlour. Many of the songs on the album were written by Ms. Doyle and all of the concert selections were scored by James Mark.

In keeping with the sun and snow theme, other concert selections include the Antoine Ouellette’s Perce-Neige, a piece that evokes the Quebec countryside. Ouellette, a Québécois musicologist and music professor, has composed more than forty works, including pieces for the flute, organ, and Celtic harp. He will be attending the concert for the premiere of his work. The Grand Canyon Suite is by American composer Ferde Grofe. The five movements include: Sunrise; Painted Desert; On the Trail, which suggests the feeling of riding on a donkey; Sunset; and Cloudburst.

The concert, which begins at 2:30 pm, will be preceded at 1:15 pm by a preconcert talk in the Studio Theatre. Concert goers interested in supporting the PEISO annual citrus sale will be able to purchase fresh apples, oranges, and grapefruits in the Centre lobby throughout the afternoon.

This is the official release of Teresa’s new recording Late Night Parlour and Teresa and the P.E.I.S.O. invite you to the afternoon concert and more jazz to follow at a reception at Mavor’s starting at 4:30 pm. www.teresadoyle.com - The Buzz, PEI

Between Sun and Snow, the third of the PEI Symphony Orchestra’s performances this season, offered an unusually spicy mixture, thoughtfully blended up to combat those long-winter blues, reassuring us that there’s warmth in our future. Perhaps even some heat.

Guest soloist Teresa Doyle sang sassy jazz tunes from her new CD, Late Night Parlour, including both original songs like “You’re My Cup of Tea” (written for husband Brett Bunson) and “Dance Me Outside” (written for her parents and dedicated to her mother) as well as compatible covers like “Comes Love (Nothing Can Be Done).” And when I say she sang them, what I mean to say is she sang the heck out of them. As is her wont.

Doyle’s one foray out of the jazz she does so well was from Orrachan, her recording of sacred medieval Irish music. Her rendition of a Gaelic song based on the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary was very stirring—Doyle really has a remarkable voice. I’ve heard her sing “The Seven Sorrows” before but never with the power and emotional impact of this performance.

After intermission we were back to swing-y jazz and a good time was had by all. Doyle, for one, was clearly enjoying herself, smiling hugely and exclaiming exuberantly, at one point, “This is as much fun as it gets!”

Ferde Grofé wrote the five movements of The Grand Canyon Suite between 1929 and 1931. Grofé was inspired by a trip he and friends had taken across the Arizona desert in 1916 to see sunrise over the Grand Canyon. Forty years later, in a radio interview, Grofé said that he’d written the Suite because what he experienced was beyond what could be expressed in words. And that’s where the first movement begins, at sunrise. Through out, we’re led through the day that follows.

Conductor James Mark spoke of the visual quality of the work, Grofé’s ability to paint a picture in music. No kidding. It’s bad form to quote from program notes, but in this case, I can’t resist (although I’ll admit I didn’t try very hard): “…a lone cowboy rides into the picture, passes a waterfall and closes in on a solitary cabin housing a music box. The cowboy gallops out of the picture and the sun sets, leaving the canyon in darkness. The music comes to an end with a cloudburst, then the moon.” I swear, I saw every item. Not to mention the donkey… And to think it was all done with music. - Ivy Wigmore, The Buzz

Between Sun and Snow, the third of the PEI Symphony Orchestra’s performances this season, offered an unusually spicy mixture, thoughtfully blended up to combat those long-winter blues, reassuring us that there’s warmth in our future. Perhaps even some heat.

Guest soloist Teresa Doyle sang sassy jazz tunes from her new CD, Late Night Parlour, including both original songs like “You’re My Cup of Tea” (written for husband Brett Bunson) and “Dance Me Outside” (written for her parents and dedicated to her mother) as well as compatible covers like “Comes Love (Nothing Can Be Done).” And when I say she sang them, what I mean to say is she sang the heck out of them. As is her wont.

Doyle’s one foray out of the jazz she does so well was from Orrachan, her recording of sacred medieval Irish music. Her rendition of a Gaelic song based on the seven sorrows of the Virgin Mary was very stirring—Doyle really has a remarkable voice. I’ve heard her sing “The Seven Sorrows” before but never with the power and emotional impact of this performance.

After intermission we were back to swing-y jazz and a good time was had by all. Doyle, for one, was clearly enjoying herself, smiling hugely and exclaiming exuberantly, at one point, “This is as much fun as it gets!”

Ferde Grofé wrote the five movements of The Grand Canyon Suite between 1929 and 1931. Grofé was inspired by a trip he and friends had taken across the Arizona desert in 1916 to see sunrise over the Grand Canyon. Forty years later, in a radio interview, Grofé said that he’d written the Suite because what he experienced was beyond what could be expressed in words. And that’s where the first movement begins, at sunrise. Through out, we’re led through the day that follows.

Conductor James Mark spoke of the visual quality of the work, Grofé’s ability to paint a picture in music. No kidding. It’s bad form to quote from program notes, but in this case, I can’t resist (although I’ll admit I didn’t try very hard): “…a lone cowboy rides into the picture, passes a waterfall and closes in on a solitary cabin housing a music box. The cowboy gallops out of the picture and the sun sets, leaving the canyon in darkness. The music comes to an end with a cloudburst, then the moon.” I swear, I saw every item. Not to mention the donkey… And to think it was all done with music. - Ivy Wigmore, The Buzz