Roberta Donnay

Roberta Donnay is an American jazz singer, musician, composer, and producer.[1][2] She has released nine studio albums and has 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 Telluride Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and other venues across the United States.

Roberta Donnay
Donnay in 2013
Donnay in 2013
Background information
Born (1966-08-10) August 10, 1966
Washington, D.C., U.S.
GenresJazz, Blues, Americana
Occupation(s)Singer, composer, musician, poet, producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, Percussion, Guitar
Years active1982–present
LabelsMotéma, BluJazz, Pacific Coast Jazz, Rainforest
Websiterobertadonnay.com

Donnay's 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

Roberta 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.[4]

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][4] 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
  • 2005 - The O.C. - No Easy Way to Say Goodbye
  • 2006 - Numb3rs - No Easy Way to Say Goodbye[22]
  • 2011 - Journey of the Universe (music supervisor)
  • 2012 - PAN AM - Something Happened Last Night
  • 2014 - What's a Girl to Do - Actress, Script, Music, Executive Producer
  • 2014 - Pie Lady of Pie Town - Call Me the Breeze [23]
  • 2015 - The Young and the Restless - Something I Was Unprepared For
  • 2019 - Riverdale - No Easy Way to Say Goodbye
  • 2021 - The Next Unicorn - No Easy Way to Say Goodbye

Discography
  • Catch the Wave (Heartfeather Music/Rainforest, 1989)
  • Soul Reverse (Rainforest, 1998)
  • Bohemian (Rainforest, 2001)
  • Back Before the Why (Rainforest, 2005)
  • What's Your Story (Pacific Coast Jazz, 2008)[24]
  • A Little Sugar (Motéma, 2012)
  • Bathtub Gin (Motéma, 2015)
  • My Heart Belongs to Satchmo (Blujazz, 2018)
  • Baby, It's Cold Outside (single) Bob Dorough & Roberta Donnay (Circumstantial Productions, 2018)[25]
  • Blossom-ing! (Village Jazz Cafe, 2022)[26]

As guest

References
  1. "Roberta Donnay". 142throckmortontheatre.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  2. All About Jazz. "Grammy Nominated Roberta Donnay, Releases Her New CD on June 7th". Allaboutjazz.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  3. "Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Band". DONYC. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  4. "Roberta Donnay". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  5. "Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob". Back Room Music. July 10, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  6. "Roberta Donnay". Women Who Rock. July 4, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  7. "Retooled Hot Licks Can Sizzle" by Bill Meredith ", The Palm Beach Post, Page 19, April 3, 2006
  8. "Donnay Keeps Jazz Chops in Reserve by Don Heckman". Los Angeles Times. July 10, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  9. "Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Band". Riff Time. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  10. "Roberta Donnay". Roberta Donnay. Retrieved 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. "Roberta Donnay & the Prohibition Mob Band". Biscuits and Blues. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  13. "Louis Armstrong still inspires Roberta Donnay by Richard Freedman". Marin Independent Journal. March 7, 2018. Retrieved 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. "DivaBands showcases local female artists by Paula Harris". Metro Active. Retrieved 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. "No Easy Way to Say Goodbye (From "Numb3rs" Ep. 306)". Deezer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  23. "ROBERTA DONNAY and The Prohibition Mob Band Come to Birdland Jazz Club by Stephi Wild". Broadway World. January 3, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  24. "Roberta Donnay - What's Your Story - Pacific Coast Jazz". Oldies. January 29, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. "Bob Dorough & Roberta Donnay - Baby, It's Cold Outside". Eddie Bee Images - YouTube. November 20, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  26. "Roberta Donnay: Blossom-ing! (Village Jazz Cafe)". Jazz Times. December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  27. "MITCH WOODS — MITCH WOODS AND HIS ROCKET 88'S : JUMP FOR JOY". Jazz Music Archives. August 1, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  28. "Jeff Oster – Jeff Oster Live! (2016) by Victor Aaron". Something Else Reviews. August 1, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
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