JAY DOUGLAS
BEST R&B ACT (NOW TORONTO-BEST OF TORONTO, OCT. 26, 2006)
For those not in the know, Jay Douglas is soul personified. Some call him Clive others Mr. Energy, but one thing is for certain, after 35 years in the competitive and cutthroat music business, this gifted singer and captivating entertainer delivers the goods straight from a heart exploding with love. He’s shared his gift from Hong Kong to the Mediterranean in countless venues and shows no sign of slowing down.
Jay Douglas first took to the stage as youth in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was here where the sprightly dynamo learnt a musical lesson he carries with him to this day, how to keep an audience entertained and happy. He does this with a wide-ranging repertoire of American blues, West Indian rhythms, jazz standards, fancy footwork, and plenty of charisma. Immigrating to Canada in 1963, it wasn’t long before Douglas was asked to front tough R&B combo The Cougars. Celebrated by Seattle-based record label Light In The Attic Records in their 2006 worldwide critical and commercial smash, Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974, this pioneering funk unit will go down in Canadian music history as young soul rebels who set Yonge Street on-fire with skill and verve.
But this was just the beginning. On top of numerous television appearances (It’s Happening, Music At Midnight, Breakfast Television) and acting roles (Heaven Before I Die, starring Omar Sharif), Douglas has earned prime-time support slots for a veritable Who’s Who of musical legends including Fats Domino, Joe Tex, Percy Sledge, Freda Payne, Dorothy Moore, Melba Moore, Cissy Houston, bluesman Roscoe Gordon, soul stylists The Manhattans, The Drifters, reggae icons Toots and the Maytals, Steel Pulse, guitarist Ernest Ranglin, calypso king The Mighty Sparrow, Louise Bennett, and even comedians Don Harron (Charlie Farquharson) and Jim Carrey.
Bolstered by the overwhelming media support for the Jamaica to Toronto concert launch on July, 2006, at Harbourfront Centre (NOW Toronto cover feature, Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, Wall Street Journal, CBC, CITY TV, Pitchforkmedia) in which Douglas acted as catalyst and band leader, the multi-talented craftsman also found time to release his 4th solo CD, A Touch Of Magic. With contributions from Jamaican music institutions Sly and Robbie, Magic, showcases the versatile artist’s evocative songwriting talents in addition to a handful of passionately executed cover songs (Nat King Cole “Take A Fools Adviceâ€). Don’t miss it…
Still performing weekly in-and-around the Toronto area, how the recent winner of NOW Toronto’s “Best R&B Act†(2006) maintains this hectic pace we’ll never know, but a clue may come from the man himself. “I’m grateful for the love of my fellow artists whom I’ve known and grown with over the years. I ask for continued blessings to each and every one cause we do it from the heart,†says Douglas. And for that, audiences, friends, and family are eternally thankful.
