Born in Seattle Washington in 1953, John Doheny studied clarinet as a child, and played in youth orchestras. Switching to saxophone in his mid-teens, he began his  professional career in 1972, backing strippers in cabarets in Vancouver, Canada, an experience he asserts “taught me what it means to be a professional musician.  We played six sets a night, six nights a week, and I learned the techniques of pacing, stamina, and consistency, skills which have served me well throughout my subsequent career.”

In 1976, Doheny enrolled in the fledgling Jazz and Commercial Music program at Vancouver Community College, where he met future colleagues Alan Matheson, Don Powrie, and Gordie Bertram, as well as his mentor, Juneau-award-winning Canadian tenor saxophonist Fraser Macpherson, who he credits as a major influence.  In 1979, he toured and performed with blues guitarist Albert Collins, and later that same year began a five year stint with “Downtown” Kenny Brown’s band. Over the next decade, Doheny  performed and recorded with the Coasters, the Platters, Bobby Curtola, Buddy Knox, the Temptations, Solomon Burke, Michael Buble, Doug and the Slugs, and numerous other pop and rhythm and blues artists.

In 1991, Doheny returned to university, earning both Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of British Columbia, Canada. In 2003, he enrolled in the graduate school at Tulane University, New Orleans, where he earned an MA in Musicology, with a concentration in Early New Orleans Jazz. From 2005 to 2011 he taught as Professor of Practice in the Tulane Music Department, as well as developing and writing course curricula and serving as coordinator of Jazz Performance Studies.

John Doheny has released three straight-ahead jazz recordings as leader, and appears on numerous others as a side-player (see the Selected Discography section on this website). He currently resides in New Orleans LA, where he performs in a wide variety of styles, from traditional to modern jazz,  funk, and brass-band.