Ellen Doty

Some are the Hallmark types, those who pluck a card from the drugstore shelves that offers an approximation of what they’re feeling for a host of different occasions.

But there are those who prefer the blank card, to be able to script their own thoughts and, ultimately, say what a Hallmark card can’t say: Who they really are.

Calgary jazz vocalist Ellen Doty undeniably falls in that latter category, someone who’d rather speak for herself than let others do the defining. It’s why, when she chose to craft her full-length debut, the album that would be her most complete introduction to the world — her artistic announcement, as it were — she took an empty sheet and threw all of herself into and onto it.

“That’s what we were really going for with this one, to get something that I feel is a really good representation of who I am as an artist and as a person, too,” Doty says, sitting on a rooftop patio in Kensington.

For that purpose, the 11 song Gold, which she will release with a pair of sold-out shows Thursday and Friday at the Ironwood, is an album made up entirely of originals, predominantly co-writes with bandmates, guests and, ultimately, those who know her best.

And as a result, it feels like an immediate, handmade, warm-hearted statement, one that uses the personal touch to reveal all sides of a performer who seems ready for her true Canadian coming out, with a voice that honeycoats every word it sings in her easy, sweet ’n’ sunny crossover jazz-pop.

“At a certain level it’s easier for me to really connect with the music and the songs I’m singing if it’s something that’s about my experience and something that I’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating,” Doty says. “There’s something extra special about that. So I really love giving my original creations life in the music.”

The album was recorded last November at local Studio D with producer Steve Dierkens, an L.A. veteran — who’s worked on Disney scores as well as the soundtrack to Anchorman — who just relocated to to Calgary and opened, what Doty describes as, “an incredibly beautiful and amazing studio. We’re lucky to be one of the first projects that came out of there.”

Musically, that’s helped by what the vocalist admits is her “dream team” of area players, including longtime collaborators Oliver Miguel and Josh Crowhurst, as well as other familiar names on the scene, including Pat Belliveau, Al Muirhead and Tristan Campbell.

To keep things organic, the band recorded together, live, off-the-floor, in the studio, which Doty thinks helped create an even more personal feel to the sessions, with the experience as important and enjoyable as the result.

“I was really honoured to have all of them there ... it was amazing,” she says. “I can’t believe it’s our job to play music all day.”

Doty laughs. “It seems ridiculous.”

As for the songs, themselves, many of them were conceived at a residency she and her regular musicians did last October at the Banff Centre, and tested and perfected during her weekly Friday night gigs in the Oak Room at the Fairmont Palliser.

True to her wishes for the record to truly represent her, the tracks are remarkably intimate and casually insightful into who she is, from the closing track Lullaby, which is a beautiful ode to her father and a fond remembrance of his good nights when she was a child, all the way back to Gold’s opening song Diamond From Cole, which is her tribute to Nat King Cole who lived across the street from Doty’s grandmother in L.A. and whose music has always “been really special to me.”




“So without singing one of his songs, I thought what better way than to write a song about him,” she says.

That song also features a co-writing credit by acclaimed Ontario singer-songwriter Danny Michel, who was one of the musical mentors during her Banff stay, and with whom she became friends. They’ve kept in touch and she doesn’t rule, perhaps, working with him again some time down the road.

For while she’s completely invested in making her own statement about who she is as an artist, she’s also not entirely closed to expanding on that definition, noting she’s even lent her voice to work by her brother, Simon Doty, a house music producer who’s doing quite well in Europe.

“Obviously I love jazz so much so that’s my main thing, but I’m definitely open to having my voice in other configurations ... I think that always helps not only open you up to different audiences, but it’s just a great learning experience as an artist.”

But, again, now is entirely about Ellen Doty, who she is as musician and a person, and she thinks Gold might just be that ticket to getting herself and that name into the national conversation, if not further.

“I couldn’t be more proud of it, actually,” she says. “And I just can’t wait to see where it goes.”

Ellen Doty releases her new album Gold Thursday and Friday at the Ironwood. Both shows are sold out with the exception of some first-come, first-served bar seating.

mbell@calgaryherald.com

Twitter.com/mrbell_23 - Calgary Herald

Ellen Doty is a soulful vocalist and songwriter from Calgary, Alberta with a world-class voice and a classic sound. Citing influences from legendary singers like Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald to modern artists like Michael Buble and Norah Jones, Doty’s music is an organic blend of traditional jazz and easy-listening pop. Doty has recently released her much-anticipated debut CD ‘Gold’. The album is currently in the top ten on several jazz charts in Canada including CFBX (Kamloops), and CFMU (Hamilton). The record features ten of Ellen's original compositions, as well as one song by Toronto songwriter Kyle Zavitz. Her co-writers include Oliver Miguel, Josh Crowhurst, Kyle Zavitz, Conrad Good, and Danny Michel.

Doty's six-song EP “That’s Love” was released to a sold-out crowd of four hundred eager fans in Calgary last May followed shortly after by a crowd-funded fifteen-city Western Canada tour. Following an exciting year that included performances in Los Angeles, an award for outstanding soloist at the 2013 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, a Banff Centre Artist Residency, and countless rave press reviews, Doty was awarded a grant by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for her debut album that she has co-produced along with LA engineer Steve Dierkens and well-known sax player Oliver Miguel.

Originally from Okotoks, Alberta, Doty has been a performer since the age of five. In her early years she sang at the church choir and competed in the Youth Talent Showdown at the Calgary Stampede. She went on to study vocal jazz at Carleton University in Ottawa, ultimately performing in their prestigious Talent Showcase. She also sang at the Canadian University Music Society Congress in the summer of 2009. She now lives in Calgary and performs weekly at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel and also guest performs with Calgary’s Primetime Big Band. She’s had the opportunity to work with many of her jazz heroes thus far including Al Kay, Pat Labarbera, Bobby Shew, Dave Mancini and PJ Perry. 

Doty released her first EP in August of 2012. The EP displays a more traditional jazz sensibility and features the playing of Adam Cormier on drums (Hey Ocean), co-writer / guitarist Josh Crowhurst, Kodi Hutchinson (Chronograph Records) on bass, Derek Stoll on piano, Pat Belliveau on sax, Carsten Rubeling on trombone, and trumpeter Jim Murray. This led her to New York in September of 2012 where she was invited to study with Robert White of Juilliard and perform with legendary drummer Dave Mancini. The disc was well received by all and her original composition “Love You First” was played heavily on many independent radio stations including CBC Radio and Alberta's own CKUA. She was also selected as a top twenty finalist for the show Canada’s Got Talent out of four thousand submissions in the spring of 2012.
Her first single and title track for her EP 'That's Love' was released on April 10th, 2013 followed shortly after by an official video filmed at Calgary's own Fairmont Palliser Hotel. The full 7-song EP was released to a sell-out crowd of 400 adoring fans at The Plaza Theatre in Kensington on May 11th, 2013 to rave reviews from fans and media alike. The songs on her EP, recorded at The Station in Calgary, range from intimate, jazz-infused ballads (Come Closer) to driving Latin-pop (Why Can't You Be My Man?). The EP spent several weeks at No.1 on the CJSW Jazz Chart and reached No.3 on the Top 50 chart. Doty recently completed her first tour of Western Canada (15 cities) sponsored by Alberta Music, Derks Formal Wear, Fairmont Hotels, Zoom Media, McCallum Printing, and designer Sydney Evans. Her touring band featured an all-star cast of young Canadian musicians including Adam Cormier on drums (Hey Ocean!), Dan Reynolds on piano, Conrad Good on upright bass, and co-writer Josh Crowhurst on guitar with special guest Oliver Miguel on the saxophone. They kicked off the tour with a sell-out show at the Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver on July 18th and finished off the tour in Calgary with another full house at the Ironwood Stage on August 11th, 2013. 

 Doty was recently awarded a video grant from Public Records and Telus to produce a video for her track “No Good Man” from her debut album “Gold”. The video was produced by Collide Entertainment (Vancouver) and released in late June 2014. The "Gold" album launch took place in Calgary with two sold-out shows at the historic Ironwood Stage on May 29th and 30th, 2014.

“This album truly reflects who I am as an artist. Not only is it organic blend of pop and jazz, but it gives you a window into my very deepest thoughts and feelings. I couldn’t be more excited to share it with the world! It’s my gold.”

The opening track ‘Diamond From Cole’ sounds like Big Band and Broadway all wrapped into one, then leads you into ‘Perfect Day’ that has a vocal that is smooth as silk, and soothes the soul, convincing you it’s all good, no matter what goes on, it’s going to be okay.

‘Restless Heart’ makes you yearn for the feeling of deep love when you first fell, and certainly shows off the strong vocals of this talented singer. ‘No Good Man’ is bluesy and bold, with the feeling of watching a torch singer in a smoky cocktail bar, once again with vocals that charm you. ‘Wait For Your Call’ is reminiscent of early Bonnie Raitt and the mournful delivery encompasses you.
‘I Think I’m in Love’ is a jazzy little number, sensuous and full of romance, Ellen Doty knows how to bring it home, while ‘Tonight’ features beautiful piano riffs that compliment this woman’s vocals perfectly.

‘Say You Will’ sends a little samba our way, while ‘I Fall For You Again’ takes you right back into wanting to fall in love again, whether it is a past love or wanting to rekindle the current person in your life.

The title track ‘Gold’ is a little bit Natalie Cole and a little bit Whitney, really showing off the power of this singer’s reach.

The last track ‘Lullaby’ is classic and so well produced, it is a lovely way to end a lovely CD, with a voice that lulls you and makes you feel peaceful and wistful at the same time.

Timeless vocals, torch songs and a charisma to boot, this is a beautiful CD in all aspects. Production, song content, musicians and vocal performance – a 20 out of 10. A must for your collection.

For more visit www.ellendoty.com

-Sandy Graham, Cashbox Magazine

October 23, 2014 - Cashbox Magazine

Ellen Doty spun a month at the Banff Centre last fall into Gold, her debut full-length.

Photograph by: Courtesy Ellen Doty , Swerve

Ellen Doty has spun her music into gold. The jazz songstress spent nearly a month at the Banff Centre creating Gold, an album of all-new tracks. “The scenery is so perfect and the atmosphere is so great,” she says. “It’s a really good space to leave everything behind.” She sat down with Swerve Going Out Editor Jon Roe to talk about singing for Carlton and being a fan of the Calgary Flames.

You play weekly at the Oak Room at the Fairmont Palliser. I hear you performed for Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day, Kill Bill) and Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) at the Oak Room during the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. I did. Vivica actually bought one of my CDs, which is really cool.

What is your etiquette when you happen to recognize someone in the audience and you want an autograph? I appreciate that they’re there to have dinner and relax after working all day. I have never asked anyone for their autograph or anything else. I chat with them like they’re normal people and I think they really appreciate that.

How would you describe the mood of your new record? It’s light, relaxing, easy-listening. It’s jazzy, but I also wanted it to be accessible to a bigger audience and not just for purely jazz enthusiasts.

So you were incorporating more pop elements then? Yeah, absolutely. Jazz pop is what I like to call it. I think people are a little scared by the word jazz sometimes. Maybe they went to a jazz club sometime and saw some avant-garde jazz, which I like as well, but it’s not for everyone. Some people are put off by the (jazz) title. I like to make it a little more friendly.

I see you retweeted a story about Calgary Flames radio play-by-play announcer Peter Maher retiring. Are you a Flames fan? Yeah, we just played at the Flames boxholders gala a couple weeks ago. We had just spent a good deal of time with the marketing people and met some wonderful people there. I’ve always been a fan of hockey. My brother played growing up. I’ve always been a Flames fan.

Do you have any favourite moments spent listening to him on the radio? I played a lot of sports in high school, so a lot of the time we were driving back from tournaments or we were going to a tournament to watch my brother play hockey. We’d spend the long car ride listening to the radio. Those are fond memories for me.

Gold album release: Thursday, May 29 and Friday, May 30 at The Ironwood Stage & Grill, 1229 9th Ave. S.E. 7:30 p.m. $35 (includes album). gold.zoobis.com.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald - Swerve Magazine

Ellen Doty sings like a whispering canary, in the hushed, intimate manner of Peggy Lee, if you go back that far, or the ethereal Margo Timmins of the 80′s band Cowboy Junkies. Ms. Doty is an original jazz vocalist and she also had a hand in writing the songs on her first full album. She opens the album with “Diamond From Cole”, a tune with a catchy big band though slightly four-square bounce, then settles into a more intimate, reflective, 40′s club mood with “Restless Heart,” “No Good Man,” and “Wait For Your Call.” Ellen projects a woman who is open, beguiled and beguiling, smart but always soft. I have listened to this album half a dozen times: when I just listen, it catches me; listening while I work, it hangs out with my mood like a golden glow. Ellen Doty is one sophisticated lady, originating in Calgary and currently touring the western provinces with an excellent nine-piece band. The title tune, “Gold,” is about a girl with ambition who won’t give up. Go girl, go.

-Stanley Fefferman, OpusOneReview

November 24, 2014 - OpusOneReview

Gold is the full-length debut from Calgarian Ellen Doty, and it's a high-quality follow-up to last year's EP That's Love, a disc that scored significant airplay. This is well-produced pop that incorporates jazz and soul elements seamlessly and it possesses a slightly retro feel. The owner of a supple and clean vocal style, Doty came up with ten strong original tunes and a cover of a song by Kyle Zavitz. One song was co-written with Danny Michel and others with the likes of Josh Crowhurst, Oliver Miguel, Conrad Good and Zavitz. A horn section and polished production complete the attractive package.

Doty recently completed a crowdfunded tour out West, and launched the disc last week with two sold-out shows at Calgary's historic Ironwood Stage. There'll be more touring in the fall.

— Kerry Doole - New Canadian Music

A life-long dream is finally starting to become reality for a young singer from Okotoks.

Ellen Doty decided to take a chance on finding success in a music career and her gamble is paying off.

The 24-year-old former Okotoks resident is getting attention for her warm, soulful vocals. She’s preparing to release her first CD, an EP titled That’s Love, and she’ll be headlining a showcase for music industry representatives in Hollywood before she embarks on her first tour this summer.

It feels like the start of something big, said Doty.

“I’ve been getting a lot of opportunities, I feel very lucky for all of it and I’m really excited for all the opportunities to come,” said Doty.

The EP, which will be released on iTunes in May, includes seven original songs, which were co-written by Doty and her guitarist Josh Crowhurst.

She’s hosting a release party for her CD at the Plaza Theatre in the Kensington area of Calgary on May 11. The show will start at 7 p.m. and tickets are $25, which includes a copy of her new CD. Tickets are available on-line at ellendoty.zoobis.com.

Doty is also gearing up for a campaign to gain pop radio play when her CD will be released to a number of large radio stations in June. She has also been contacted by several publishers about the possibility of using her music in other media.

In addition to the new album and release party, Doty has a busy schedule in the months ahead.

She will perform at a showcase in Los Angeles in May where she hopes to catch the attention of record labels. The big city is nothing new for Doty as she had the opportunity to perform in New York in September with jazz artist Dave Mancini.

“He saw me perform in Calgary at the Palliser and he brought me out for a concert,” she said of Mancini.

Doty will see plenty of other cities, big and small, when she heads out on the road for a western Canadian tour this summer.

She’s still putting the final itinerary together, but it will kick off in Vancouver on July 18 at the Cellar with performances in communities in B.C. and Alberta. She has also launched an on-line campaign to help raise money for her upcoming tour at igg.me/at/ellendotymusic.

Doty has come a long way from her first public performance singing and playing piano during a Grade 1 talent show at Good Shepherd School in Okotoks. Music was a big part of her life as she grew up singing in school and church choirs and performing at the Youth Talent Showdown at the Calgary Stampede.

After a few sidetracks, Doty is now making her music her main focus.

After graduating from Holy Trinity Academy in 2006, she went to Carleton University in Ottawa to study vocal jazz. However, she ended up needing surgery and moved back to Calgary after a year. As much as she loved the music program, she thought she needed a back up plan and decided to take geology at the University of Calgary.

After three years in the program, Doty chose to take time off from her studies and take one more shot at a music career.

“It’s what I’m passionate about and I can’t see myself sitting at a desk for the rest of my life, so I’m giving it a shot,” she said.

Visit www.ellendoty.com for more on Doty and to hear her music, including her new single Love Your First.
- Okotoks Western Wheel

PLAYING HOOKY: Ellen Doty was supposed to be doing her honours thesis and fourth year of geology at the University of Calgary this year. Then her music career took off. “It’s a wonderful backup career, definitely, but it’s not what I’m passionate about,” says Doty, who was introduced to the field by her geophysicist dad.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Part of what lured her away from the rocks was the chance to play in New York with drummer Dave Mancini, who has played with Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione and Tony Bennett. Mancini saw Doty singing at the Oak Room in the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, where she has a regular Friday-night stint, while he was in town playing with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

TOUR-A-GOGO: To support a 16-city Canadian tour, Doty started an indiegogo.com campaign to raise money. Along with receiving advance copies of her EP, which she is releasing Saturday at the Plaza Theatre, donors could pledge money to have her sing a song of their choice on YouTube. “One of them is ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park,” she says, “which is an interesting choice.”

UNDER THE COVERS: Doty’s no stranger to covers. She regularly takes requests at the Oak Room. “A lot of people ask us for songs that are outside of the genre that I normally perform, but we have a lot of fun trying to rework them and make them into our own,” she says. Her band has been asked to do Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Britney Spears.

BONUSES ON BONUSES: Tickets to her EP-release show at the Plaza include the new five-song EP. There’ll also be a raffle with all proceeds going to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

ELLEN DOTY: EP release on Saturday, May 11 at the Plaza Theatre, 1133 Kensington Rd. N.W. 7 p.m. $25. ellendoty.zoobis.com.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald Buy this article at www.HeraldContentMarketplace.com


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Arts+Star+Ellen+Doty/8355181/story.html#ixzz2TK2xbnxL - Calgary Herald

On Saturday night you will find Ellen Doty at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington.

She will be there, celebrating the release of her new EP That’s Love, performing to what will presumably be a packed

house
of fans she’s picked up over the past couple of years with her slick, sultry jazz-pop sound.

But she shouldn’t be. She shouldn’t be seducing a roomful of people with those bright, beautiful pipes. She should be up to her eyes in books and rocks and books about rocks.

“I’m supposed to be in my fourth year of geology, doing an honours thesis, but I am now doing music full-time,” says Doty, while sitting at a 17th Avenue sidewalk table sipping her tea, before adding what’s apparent from the smile on her face, “and I am very happy.”

And those who’ve heard her play, either her own shows or frequent sit-ins with the Prime Time Big Band, are happy that she’s content to be making a go with her voice and songs instead of quartz and crystals, and ready to take it to the next level with the seven-track gem of a CD and accompanying tour, which will even take her to the States for a SOCAN showcase in L.A. and a festival performance in Malibu.



So, how does a rock-picker in training find herself the rarest of creatures, a working and semi-self-sustaining jazz artist — she’s a Friday night fixture at the Fairmont Palliser, a regular at clubs such as Wine-Ohs and is a sought after corporate entertainer — at the prime, post-secondary age of 24?

Well, for that answer, you need to, appropriately, dig a little and follow the bouncing ball. That, for all intents and purposes, started in Okotoks, where she was raised on an acreage before moving to Calgary, followed by a stint at The King's

University
College in Edmonton where she honed her hoop skills on the women’s basketball team.

From there, it was a year “off” in Costa Rica where she volunteered at a clinic and orphanage with the thoughts of possibly pursuing a career in medicine. But, before that could take hold, she headed to Ottawa to study her love of jazz and do some more dribbling, which, unfortunately resulted in the need for hip surgery and a return to Cowtown, where she enrolled at the U of C for, yes, geology, with a minor in music that, as we’ve surmised, has now become her major focus.

Got it? Good.

Geologist. Doctor. Basketball coach. Jazz musician. Take your pick. Doty did.

“I think, in general, I’m very determined as a person,” she says by way of explanation. “So I don’t think it matters that much what I do, I really always want to make something happen with it. So, with music, it’s something that I’m so passionate about and I know that I’m going to do everything I can to make it work for me.”

And so will others, apparently.

You can count among her many believers a great many from the city’s scene, including bandmates Josh Crowhurst and Adam Cormier, as well as other artists such as Pat Belliveau, Craig Newnes, Clea Roddick and Spencer Cheyne — all of who contribute writing or performance credits on the Doty originals that make up That’s Love, which was recorded at local studio The Station.




Or you could look to the success she’s had over the years in things such as the Stampede Talent Search, jazz festival honours, a Top 20 showing in the Canada’s Got Talent competition and a good run in a CBC Radio contest.

And finally, you can also number among her biggest fans Dave Mancini, drummer for Johnny’s boy Doc Severinsen and a musician who has toured with other big names such as Hank Hill’s favourite Chuck Mangione. After hearing her sing at the Palliser, he invited her down to New York for a whirlwind 10 days last September, where she did some studying at Juilliard, took vocal lessons with noted coach Jay Clayton, and performed a big-time, Big Apple concert with Mancini, which she calls, naturally, an “incredible experience” — one she’ll presumably get to revisit, as he’s invited her to return.

And, ultimately, it’s not hard to understand why. Doty’s talents, both as a vocalist and a songwriter, allow her to effortlessly marry her jazz side with a more polished contemporary approach that pulls from blue-eyed soul and hand-clap pop. The result is not only widespread appeal — from purists to those with an aversion — but a sound that’s truly unique.

“I’ve always loved jazz music,” she says, noting it was fostered early by her grandmother who lived across the street from Nat King Cole in L.A. and would regale her with tales of house parties and young Natalie.

“I’ve kind of put my own twist on it, it’s a little more pop-jazz, more Norah Jones type stream, where some of it can go pop radio, but still a lot of jazz influence in that I’m really happy about.

“A lot of my friends say, ‘I don’t like jazz. But I like your music,’ ” she says and laughs. And I’m like, ‘It is jazz. You just don’t know it. It’s hidden or something.’ ”

And well worth digging for.

Ellen Doty releases her new EP Tha - Calgary Herald