Douyé had a very close relationship with her father, who passed away when she was 11. “My Dad always played jazz around the house and told me that jazz was life. The last time I saw him, he wanted me to promise him that someday, when I was a woman, I would sing jazz. I always remembered that.”

 She gained experience singing in school in Nigeria, but her goal was to be in the U.S. “Music was the reason that I moved to the United States. I attended the Musicians Institute, where my beliefs about the importance of being oneself, developing my own sound, and not comparing myself to anyone else were validated.” While at the school, she met songwriter Terry Shaddick, who had composed Olivia-Newton John’s big hit “Physical.” They soon formed a musical partnership, writing the music together for her first two albums, Journey and So Much Love. “Journey was about coming from Africa and becoming a musician in the Western world. My second album, So Much Love, was dedicated to the great African Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti.” Both of the records were inspired by classic R&B (including Anita Baker, Sam Cooke and Sade, among others) along with Douyé’s African musical heritage, displaying her as a powerful and soulful singer in addition to being a skilled composer.

         But after So Much Love was completed, Douyé felt that something was missing, and that was the promise she had made to her father. “Earlier, I was hesitant to sing jazz because I felt that I needed to do more work. But after So Much Love, I decided that it was finally time to go all the way into jazz.” Douyé started attending jazz jams at the World Stage in Los Angeles and found that the audience and her fellow musicians were very encouraging. She began working with pianist Howlett Smith, built up her repertoire, and worked very hard at finding her own place in the jazz world. “I’ve never looked at another singer and thought that I wanted to be like them. While I admire many singers, I know what I hold, and so I always wanted to sound like myself and hone my artistic qualities.” For her first jazz album Daddy Said So, she was joined by such masterful musicians as pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ron Carter (for a duet version of “Nature Boy”), trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, guitarist Russell Malone, and pianists Otmaro Ruiz, John Beasley and Joel Scott, along with the Kim Richmond big band on two numbers. Douyé’s warmth, swinging phrasing, and deep understanding of the lyrics that she interpreted and pure joy at performing creative jazz are very much in evidence throughout the memorable Douyé set. 

Douyé followed Daddy Said So with Quartro – Bossa Nova Deluxe, a set of Brazilian jazz that includes many attractive songs, including several by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and bossa-nova versions of “Lover Man,” “Watch What Happens,” “Song For My Father,” and “Nica’s Dream.” Her supporting cast included pianists John Di Martino and Otmaro Ruiz, saxophonist Justo Almario, and guitarists Romero Lubambo, Angelo Metz and Paul Meyers. 

Now with the release of The Golden Sékéré, Douyé is consolidating her place as a major jazz singer. “Jazz fits very well with my spirit and it speaks to life. It inspires me to put a lot of work and depth into what I do, and there is always so much more to learn. I relate each song to my own life, my story, and my journey. For the future, I hope to perform as often as possible and bring this music not only to Los Angeles and nationally but to Europe, Africa and worldwide, reaching out to the international world of jazz.”