Originally from Okotoks, Alberta, Ellen has been a performer since age five- she sang and played “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” from the Lion King at her first grade talent show. She went on to study vocal jazz at Carleton University in Ottawa, as well as a minor in music at the University of Calgary with her BSc. in Geology (when she thought she needed a backup career, long story). 

In 2013, Ellen Doty was the recipient of the ‘Outstanding Soloist’ award from the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho and she completed a Banff Centre Artist Residency for Collaborative Song-Writing at the renowned Banff Centre in Alberta. 

Doty’s first album “Gold”, a more traditional sounding pop-jazz album, was released in 2014. It reached the top 10 on several college radio charts in Canada, and she followed up the release with a crowd-funded, self-booked, 42 stop Canadian tour. In the past couple of years, Doty has been touring quite extensively in Canada. She has opened for Grammy-winners Gregory Porter and Lisa Fischer and recently had a feature performance at the Tokyo Jazz Festival 

 Doty is signed to Toronto-based label Alma Records, and her latest album “Come Fall” came out on Universal Music in Canada, debuting at #1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart. The album received rave reviews from fans and media alike: “By pushing her artistic boundaries and refusing to be placed in a box, Doty achieved musical brilliance that sets her apart from her peers. Doty’s sophomore album clearly proves her voice knows no limits. But it is perhaps her modesty and the purity of her intent to create good music that continues to define her as a blossoming Canadian artist.” – Beatroute Magazine.

Doty is also signed to Impartmaint Records in Japan. She is currently working on a new album that is set for release in the fall of 2022.

Photos by Unfolding Creative