Style Q&A Feature for Avenue Magazine, Calgary: Jazz singer Ellen Doty grew up in Okotoks. She released her first album, Gold, in 2014 and plans to release a second album this fall. Like her music, which is a fusion of jazz, soul and pop, Doty’s personal style is a fusion of eras. Her high-waisted skirts and tucked blouses would fit in at a 1950s Parisian café, her bobbed hair and bangs at a 1920s speakeasy.
By: Jeremy Simes For Metro Published on Wed Feb 10 2016
Ellen Doty traded her textbooks for a career in jazz music.
It was a decision her parents weren’t too happy about but, it seems, things have been paying off for the local jazz singer-songwriter.
On Feb. 19, Doty is set to open for Grammy winner Gregory Porter at the Jack Singer.
Turns out she’s also extremely excited to open for Porter — there’s no such thing as stage fright anymore, she said.
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.
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.
