Doug Riley

born on 24/4/1945 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

died on 27/8/2007 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Doug Riley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Douglas Brian "Doug" Riley,[1] CM (April 24, 1945 – August 27, 2007) was a Canadian musician, also known as Dr. Music. He spent two decades with the Famous People Players as its musical director, besides his participation on over 300 album projects in various genres. Riley died of a heart attack on August 27, 2007.[2]

Riley was a graduate of the University of Toronto and studied with the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Doug Riley was born and raised in Toronto. At the age of two he was diagnosed with polio. He began to study piano at the age of three as a way of coping with his physical disability and providing him with a means of self-expression. He played with the Silhouettes, an R&B band, while in his teens. He attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1965. He went on to do his postgraduate work on the music of the Iroquois. In 1969, Riley was the arranger and keyboardist on Ray Charles album, Doing His Thing. In a 2006 interview with the Toronto Star, Doug Riley said Ray Charles was my first influence outside the boogie-woogie and stride pianists like Albert Ammons and Fats Waller.[3] After the completion of the album, Ray Charles asked Doug Riley to join his band but Riley turned down the offer and decided to stay in Toronto to continue his musical career.

Discography

  • Doctor Music (RCI, 1977)
  • Dreams (1975, PM Records with Don Thompson, Claude Ranger, Michael Stuart)
  • Dr Music (EP - CTL, 1984)
  • Stride (2005)
  • You Can't Make Peace (2007)

Awards and recognition

  • 1981: nominee, Juno Awards, Best Jazz Album: Tommy Ambrose at Last (Tommy Ambrose with the Doug Riley Band)
  • 1993-2000: Jazz Organist of the Year, Jazz Report Awards
  • 2003: member, Order of Canada

References

  1. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0727020/bio
  2. The Canadian Press, Dr. Music, Doug Riley, dies at 62, 'Charlottetown Guardian', 2007-08-29. URL accessed on 2009-06-01.
  3. (qtd. Martin).

External links

  • CBC News
  • All Music Biography
  • Canadian Jazz Archive
  • Doug Riley Memorial Award
  • PM Records/Doug Riley
This page was last modified 18.02.2014 11:56:12

This article uses material from the article Doug Riley from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.