Doreen Ann Smith was born in
Montréal, Québec on October 18th, 1954. She began her
singing career with a number of local rock bands, culminating in a
three-year stretch with one-hit wonders
Major Hoople's Boarding House. In the 80s she was singing with
Shakey Ground, drifting more into blues, and developing an itch
to get into jazz.
Her breakthrough came in 1991, when the
Hillside Festival invited her to do a set with the
straightahead
Jane Ellenton Trio. The gig went well, Doreen got
noticed, she and the trio gelled, and they've continued to appear together
on occasion ever since. Furthermore, Doreen snagged the Ellenton Trio
for her debut indie recording
Centrepiece the following
year.
Since then, she has continued to devote more of her energies to her jazz
appearances and broadened her base of operations; she has become a regular
sight at
regional jazz festivals and clubs, she sang with the Niagara Symphony
Orchestra in the fall of '93, and has on several occasions been chosen
to sing the national anthem at the opening of
Jays games! (Sure, it ain't the
Village Vanguard, but still...)
