Biography

Keyboardist Doobie Powell is a gifted leader and sideman know for his soulful gospel, funk, and jazz-oriented work. Following sessions in the '90s with his father, Rev. Hubert Powell, Sr., he issued his own richly emotive albums, including 2003's For the Love of It All and 2019's Finding Myself Again with Snarky Puppy's Robert "Sput" Searight. Born Hubert Leander Powell III in 1975 in Hartford, Connecticut, Doobie Powell was raised in a musical and religious family. His father, Hubert Powell, Sr., had toured with organist Richard "Groove" Holmes and was a co-founder of the funk and disco group Wood, Brass & Steel (which evolved into the backing ensemble for the seminal rap group the Sugarhill Gang in the '80s). In the late '70s, Powell's father and mother, singer Jacquelyn Powell, returned to their gospel roots, working as pastors and musicians at their Hartford church. Subsequently, Powell was introduced to gospel music at a young age and grew up playing drums with his parents. By his teens, he was listening to an eclectic mix of gospel, jazz, fusion, and funk. His adept skills and wide-ranging ear found him in demand as a session player, and over the years he has worked with such artists as Kim Burrell, Musiq Soulchild, Robert Glasper, the Clark Sisters, Tonéx, Tye Tribbett, Kelly Price, and Tramaine Hawkins, among others. Along with touring and session work, Powell also holds the position of Minister of Music at Latter Rain Christian Fellowship, where his parents are pastors. As a solo artist, he debuted in 2002 with The Offspring (re-released in 2005 as The Offspring, Vol. 1), which he followed a year later with For the Love of It All. 4 Zoe arrived in 2007, and in 2009, Powell released The Time Is Now. Finding Myself Again arrived on Ropeadope Records in 2019 and featured collaborations with Snarky Puppy drummer Robert "Sput" Searight. Included on the album was the single "Just Do It." ~ Matt Collar