Doky Brothers

The Doky Brothers surfaced during the mid-1990s as a mainstream jazz duo, releasing two albums on Blue Note that drew directly from hard bop while adding contemporary production touches and fusion accents.

Pianist Niels Lan Doky, born October 3, 1963, and bassist Chris Minh Doky, born February 7, 1969, both grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark, in a household headed by a physician father who played classical guitar and a mother active as a Danish pop singer. Niels first played guitar before switching to piano at age eleven after hearing Scott Joplin’s music in the Paul Newman and Robert Redford film The Sting. He soon absorbed the styles of jazz’s leading pianists and began working professionally at thirteen; two years later he appeared with trumpeter Thad Jones, who was directing a radio big band in Denmark. Jones encouraged the young pianist to relocate to the United States and supplied a recommendation that earned Niels a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied from 1981 to 1984 and graduated magna cum laude with a professional music degree. While in Boston he performed with Terri Lyne Carrington, Cyrus Chestnut, and Branford Marsalis, among others. After moving to New York he worked with Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw, then issued his first album, Here or There, on Storyville Records—the initial entry in a series of solo releases that later appeared on Milestone, DAM/Maracatu, Soul Note, and Columbia.

Niels began co-leading tours with his brother in 1989. Chris had started on piano as a child, changed to electric bass at fifteen, and adopted the acoustic instrument two years afterward upon discovering jazz. Following lessons with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen he arrived in New York in 1988 intending to attend Berklee; there he met and played with Randy Brecker and John Scofield. Drummer Jimmy Cobb, formerly associated with Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery, persuaded Chris to remain in the city and gain experience through club work instead. Chris recorded his debut album, Appreciation, for Storyville in 1989 and joined his brother on the road as co-leader that same year.

During the early 1990s the brothers continued leading separate sessions while touring together, eventually deciding to record as the Doky Brothers. Their self-titled Blue Note debut, produced by Pedersen, included guest appearances by trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist Michael Brecker, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, guitarist Ulf Wakenius, and singer Curtis Stigers; it appeared in 1996 and received favorable reviews along with solid sales. Their second album, likewise produced by Pedersen, featured guitarist John Scofield, harmonica player Toots Thielemans, saxophonists David Sanborn and Bill Evans, and trumpeter Randy Brecker.