Mike Doty

American jazz saxophonist Robert E. "Mike" Doty was born in Zumbro Falls, Minnesota, on February 21, 1906. By the time he was 18 years old, he was already organizing and managing his own jazz and dance bands near Rochester. His band traveled to Fargo, South Dakota, where in 1930 he joined Phil Baxter's band. Baxter's band went west to Tacoma, Washington, where Doty eventually took over leadership of the band for two years. In 1931 Doty joined the Joe Haymes Orchestra in Springfield, Missouri, played in the sax section, did some arrangements for the band, some vocals, and even some recording dates of the Haymes Orchestra under his own name. He stayed with the group after it had been taken over by Buddy Rogers in late 1934, but by the beginning of 1935, Doty left for New York and eventually joined Phil Harris' orchestra and toured briefly with them. Doty joined Ray Noble's orchestra later in 1935 and stayed with him until he joined Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra in March of 1937. After a few brief months with Dorsey (but numerous recordings), Doty joined with Bunny Berigan's band through the remainder of 1937, also recording quite a few sides with Berigan. In 1938 Doty joined Larry Clinton and stayed until March 1939, finishing the year with a tour for Bob Zurke. In the early 1940s Doty did Broadway musicals ("Louisiana Purchase" and "Priorities of 1942") and some substitute dates (including Paul Whiteman), finally settling down into his longest tenure thus far by joining Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians from 1942 until 1956. The next five years he played at the Roxy Theatre in the house orchestra (intermittently substituting at Radio City Music Hall) until he joined Radio City Music Hall full time in the beginning of 1961. He retired from Radio City and full time music in April of 1979. Sometime in the late 1940s Doty began playing the oboe and continued playing double reeds (and all the woodwinds) through the remainder of his career. His tenure with the Roxy Theatre and the Radio City Music Hall exposed him to a much more classical repertoire, and he studied accordingly. At the same time, he took to some composing and wrote a piece for woodwinds, featuring the oboe, called the "Hoboe Simfony," which was performed publicly twice. The composition reflects some links and crossovers between jazz and impressionistic classical music. Sometime also in the late 1940s Doty began taking on students and continued to teach and attend student concerts late into his life until his death on May 31, 1988 at his home in Rochester, Minnesota.