Roberta Donnay Explained

Roberta Donnay
Birth Date:10 August 1966
Birth Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Genre:Jazz, Blues, Americana
Occupation:Singer, composer, musician, poet, producer
Instrument:Vocals, Percussion, Guitar
Years Active:1982–present
Label:Motéma, BluJazz, Pacific Coast Jazz, Rainforest
Associated Acts:Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks

Roberta Donnay is an American jazz singer, musician, composer, and producer.[1] [2] She has released nine studio albums and shared the stage with such artists as Booker T. Jones, Dr. John, David Grisman, John P. Hammond, Elvis Costello, Leon Russell, Michael McDonald, Neil Young, and Maria Muldaur.[3] [4] [5] [6] She toured extensively with Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks as a Lickette, providing vocals and percussion.[7] She has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, SXSW, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and other venues across the USA.

Her songs have been featured on The O.C., Riverdale, Nash Bridges, Numb3rs, and PAN AM, among others. Her song, One World, was the theme for the United Nations 50th Anniversary and World AIDS Day in South Africa and earned her an ASCAP Composer Award.[8] [1]

Career

Donnay grew up in Washington, D.C., and learned to sing from the radio. Jazz being her first love, she was influenced at an early age by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Mae West, and Bessie Smith.[9] She began singing professionally at 16, wandering Europe with a knapsack and borrowing guitars on-site.[10] After relocating to San Francisco, she sang Dixieland and traditional jazz with "Dick Oxtot's Golden Age Jazz Band" and performed with "Tom Keats & his Tom Kats". Her first album, Catch the Wave, was the first indie CD released in the San Francisco Bay area. Her music has been produced by jazz producer Orrin Keepnews. As a singer and songwriter, Donnay toured the U.S. with her guitar and appeared on various shows. She returned to singing jazz full-time in 2005. She is a practicing Buddhist.

She has performed with and opened shows for Bob Dorough, Dave Ellis, David Grisman, Junior Brown, Tommy Castro, Peter Coyote, Woody Harrelson, Ernestine Anderson, Dan Fogelberg, Johnny Lange, Huey Lewis, Eddie Money, Joe Sample, Lenny Williams, Mitch Woods, Neil Young, and Tuck & Patti, among others.[1] [11]

Donnay has released nine studio albums, three of which were recorded as Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob Band.[12] [1] Bathtub Gin was named One of the Best Albums of 2015 by DownBeat Magazine.[13]

She formed the music group, Roberta Donnay & the Rhythm in the late 1980s and they performed together until the early 1990s.[14] [15] In 1999, Donnay signed a publishing deal with Heavy Hitters Music who placed her songs in such TV shows as, The Young and the Restless, One Life to Live, All My Children, and That's Life.[1] Her songs have also been featured on The Unit, Nash Bridges, Numbers, PAN AM, and That's Life.

In 2000, Donnay founded, DivaBands (inspired by the Lilith Fair), a line-up of various female singer-songwriters based in the San Francisco Bay Area, whom Donnay also performed with.[16] [17] DivaBands' first gig was a benefit concert at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco which had such a large turnout that the club owner suggested she book another show at one of his other clubs.[18] DivaBands garnered such a successful following in California that Donnay organized a national tour performing in Arizona, Washington, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.[19] [20] [21]

Her song, "One World," became a theme for the United Nations 50th Anniversary and was performed on 5 continents as a world peace anthem. It was also chosen as the theme for World AIDS Day in South Africa in 2003.[1] [10]

Film and television music

Discography

As guest

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roberta Donnay . 142throckmortontheatre.com . 2011-10-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120320100512/http://www.142throckmortontheatre.com/event.php?eventid=406 . 2012-03-20 .
  2. Web site: All About Jazz . Grammy Nominated Roberta Donnay, Releases Her New CD on June 7th . https://archive.today/20120728200425/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=9936 . dead . 2012-07-28 . Allaboutjazz.com . 2011-10-08 .
  3. Web site: Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Band. DONYC. September 22, 2022.
  4. Web site: Roberta Donnay . Allaboutjazz.com . 2011-10-08.
  5. Web site: Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob. Back Room Music. July 10, 2022. September 23, 2022.
  6. Web site: Roberta Donnay. Women Who Rock . July 4, 2011. February 12, 2020.
  7. "Retooled Hot Licks Can Sizzle" by Bill Meredith ", The Palm Beach Post, Page 19, April 3, 2006
  8. Web site: Donnay Keeps Jazz Chops in Reserve by Don Heckman. Los Angeles Times. July 10, 2007. September 22, 2022.
  9. Web site: Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Band. Riff Time. September 22, 2022.
  10. Web site: Roberta Donnay . Roberta Donnay . 2011-10-08.
  11. "Years Melt Away for Fans of Dan Fogelberg's Old Tunes by L. Pierce Carson", Napa Valley Register, Page 5, July 31, 2001.
  12. Web site: Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob Band. Biscuits and Blues . February 12, 2020.
  13. Web site: Louis Armstrong still inspires Roberta Donnay by Richard Freedman. Marin Independent Journal. March 7, 2018. September 2, 2022.
  14. "Nightclubs Cabaret", The Press Democrat, Page 39, April 21, 1989
  15. "Time to Get Starstruck!", The Napa Valley Register, Page 13, September 5, 1991
  16. "Delightful Divas Come to Grass Valley", Lincoln Messenger, Page 41, January 11, 2001
  17. Web site: DivaBands showcases local female artists by Paula Harris. Metro Active. September 23, 2022.
  18. "Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves by Anne Crump", The San Francisco Examiner, Page 21, March 6, 2001
  19. "Local Girl on Tour with DivaBands", Baraboo News Republic, Page 2, September 8, 2001
  20. "Byrne-ing down the concert house by Rob Thomas", The Capital Times, Page 67, September 13, 2001.
  21. "Take 5 Noteworthy Events", Bellingham Herald, Page 32, November 1, 2001.
  22. Web site: No Easy Way to Say Goodbye (From "Numb3rs" Ep. 306). Deezer. September 22, 2022.
  23. Web site: ROBERTA DONNAY and The Prohibition Mob Band Come to Birdland Jazz Club by Stephi Wild. Broadway World. January 3, 2019. September 22, 2022.
  24. Web site: Roberta Donnay - What's Your Story - Pacific Coast Jazz. Oldies. January 29, 2008. September 26, 2022.
  25. Web site: Bob Dorough & Roberta Donnay - Baby, It's Cold Outside. Eddie Bee Images - YouTube. November 20, 2018. September 24, 2022.
  26. Web site: Roberta Donnay: Blossom-ing! (Village Jazz Cafe). Jazz Times. December 22, 2022. January 14, 2023.
  27. Web site: MITCH WOODS — MITCH WOODS AND HIS ROCKET 88'S : JUMP FOR JOY . Jazz Music Archives. August 1, 2016. September 24, 2022.
  28. Web site: Jeff Oster – Jeff Oster Live! (2016) by Victor Aaron. Something Else Reviews. August 1, 2016. September 24, 2022.

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