Best Vocalist nominee at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2022 and 2023, Scottish jazz vocalist Louise Dodds released her third studio album in May 2023, a duo project with renowned Azerbaijani pianist, arranger and composer Elchin Shirinov titled Two Hours After Midnight. The album brought together their love of folk, classical and jazz and was supported by Creative Scotland. The album received 4 star reviews from Jazzwise, All About Jazz and MOJO Magazine, as well as critical acclaim from press in Europe, America and Japan, and was selected by All About Jazz as one of their top jazz albums of 2023.

The duo are now working on a writing commission through PRS Foundation for Music on the theme of Belonging, with lyrics by Louise and music by Elchin. This new music will be performed as part of their summer 2024 tour.

Prior to this release, Louise released her first album in 9 years in March 2022. The album, ‘The Story Needs an Ending’, was also Louise’s first fully original album. She took the album on the road, performing 12 dates across Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. The album was selected by Jim Gilchrist in his Arts Review of 2022 in The Scotsman.

It was also selected as Album of the Week in the UK, Central America and Asia.

Recorded in Glasgow in June 2021 with fellow Scots Tom Gibbs, Andrew Robb and Alyn Cosker, the album contains 10 tracks which Louise wrote by delving deep into her own life experiences, touching on subjects like grief, relationships, learning to trust life again, and emancipation. Many of the tracks were written during lockdown, with some being showcased as part of Louise’s lockdown collaboration project, ‘Songs From The Blue Room’. 

During lockdown, Louise also collaborated with London jazz guitarist Ant Law, resulting in the single Whispers (Credits) being released (as well as this rendition of Coltrane’s 26-2!)

Prior to lockdown though, 2020 saw Louise having the incredible honour of opening for Norma Winstone MBE as part of the Scottish Jazz Weekend in Edinburgh, Her career has also seen her performing at London Jazz Festival, Pizza Express, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Glasgow Jazz Festival as well as in Europe and the Middle East.

Her previous album, ‘Fly’, released in 2013, featured UK jazz heavyweights John Pearce, Dave Green, Steve Brown and Martin Shaw, and that year she was also awarded funding by Jazz Services UK and Arts Council England for her upcoming UK tour. In 2012 Louise was semi finalist at the International Jazz Vocalist Competition in Lithuania.

Louise also performed the Title Theme and Credits Theme for the PS4 game Mutazione in 2019.