(from the Tolucan Times)
‘Daddy Said So’ artist appears at Edwin Mills in Pasadena Tues., Nov. 14
Her voice is throaty and sensuous, her delivery honest. Douyé “feels” her songs and she “gets” the meaning and the mood. She was born to sing jazz. At a Burbank event Sunday night, October 15, she wowed the audience with her vocals.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria she got her start singing in church. Her father, a jazz “fanatic,” played the music constantly, and Douyé would sing along. She began to write poems, then songs. Like her father, jazz was in her blood.
When she was only 11-years-old, her father suddenly became ill. After three days in the hospital, he called for Douyé to come to him. He asked her to make him a promise, that when she became a woman she would sing jazz. “Why do I have to wait until I’m a woman?,” she asked. He replied, “Because jazz is life, and you can’t sing about life until you have lived.” She made that promise, still a bit confused by his insistence. That night he died.
Years later, Douyé moved to America settling in Los Angeles where she studied at the Music Institute in Hollywood. Her first two CDs, Journey and So Much Love, were classic R&B, not jazz. But soon her promise to her beloved father began to haunt her. For several nights she felt his presence. She had to return to jazz.
To ensure that she was making the right career choice, she sang in clubs, getting feedback from accomplished jazz artists, sending them CDs. The response was all positive. Her latest compilation, Daddy Said So, enjoys the artistry of an assortment of respected musicians and Douyé singing legendary jazz tunes such as “Summertime,” “Mood Indigo” and “Autumn Leaves.” Definitely Grammy material.
Douyé’s live performances are a must. On Tuesday, November 14, you can catch her at Edwin Mills in Old Town Pasadena and Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at Vibrato, Herb Alpert’s venue in the Bel Air Hills.
