Edmonton jazz songstress Ellen Doty is feeling fresh and rested after her six-month-old, Leon, miraculously slept through the night. She’s having a day at home, enjoying some quiet moments before her new album, Every Little Scene, launches into the world on June 14.
Quiet moments are, in fact, the inspiration of the album.
“It’s about noticing those little mundane things around that you take for granted when you’re busy and doing so much,” she says. She mentions coffee perking first thing in the morning or seeing the beauty of dust motes sparkling with sunlight. “I’m learning to appreciate them a lot more.”
The album also coincides with her entry into parenthood.
“I recorded and wrote a lot of the album while I was pregnant, so that was a really cool experience,” Doty says. “I actually did work on the mixes and stuff with the engineer when the baby was a few weeks old. Which seems crazy now that I think of it, but when he was sleeping I was in here with headphones, quietly listening to things.”
It feels good to have it coming out into the world, she says.
“I’m really thrilled about it,” she says. “With this project I’ve gotten to a place where I’m just comfortable where I am as an artist, making the music that I want to make. Not caring as much about what genre exactly it is or what box it fits into. I feel really proud to have gotten to that place.”
Album release parties are scheduled for June 19 and 22 in Edmonton and Calgary, respectively. The shows will include her core trio, herself, drummer Peter Hendrickson and pianist Devin Hart, plus Kensington Sinfonia in string quartet form (one member is from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the other three from the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.)
All the musicians are also included on the album, which additionally features songs she cowrote with an impressive list of artists, including Wyatt C. Louis, Nuela Charles, Audrey Ochoa, Efa Etoroma, Jr., and Luca Fogale among them.
For every ticket sold to her Edmonton album release party, Doty is donating $1 to CKUA.
Her first-ever radio interview was with CKUA, she says, in about 2012. “The station has just been so supportive of me and so many other artists, especially music that’s not necessarily as mainstream, like mine,” she says.
“CKUA provides such a supportive environment for artists who are trying new things or exploring what they want to be as artists. It’s just such an important part of our community and I want to keep it going.”
For tickets to Doty’s album release shows, check out her website.
“Starting to Understand,” from Every Little Scene:
