Christy Doran was born in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Lucerne, Switzerland since his childhood. His father was an Irish ballad singer, providing Christy with his first exposure to music. In the 1970´s he was a founding member (along with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri) of the seminal Swiss band "OM". Tours throughout Europe, radio/TV - appearances, workshops, music for ballet, theatre and film. Over the years, his career has included countless solo concerts, in which he regularly pushes to the limits the capabilities of a single guitar. He has played in duos with Marty Ehrlich, Harry Pepl, Fritz Hauser, Dave Doran, Dom Um Romao, John Wolf-Brennan, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, among others. After playing in a trio with Jasper van´t Hof, he went on to form the "Christy Doran´s May 84" septet with Norma Winstone, Trilok Gurtu, Urs Leimgruber, Rosko Gee, Dom Um Romao and Dave Doran. He has been a member of the "Peter Warren Quartet" with Victor Lewis and John Surman, and "RED TWIST & TUNED ARROW" with Stephan Wittwer and Fredy Studer (1985 - 1987). Christy Doran was also a co-founder of "Doran/Studer/Burri/Magnenat," (later "Doran/Studer/Gerber/Magnenat") and member of a quartet with Bobby Previte, Mark Helias and Gary Thomas. He played in a trio with Marilyn Mazur and Kim Clarke, as well as with Sibylle Pomorin´s "Augeries of Speed" meeting Terry Jenour, Annie Whitehead, Kim Clarke, Herb Robertson, Kamal Sabir. As a member of Urs Leimgruber´s "Ensemble Bleu" he also played with Francoise Kubler, Louis Sclavis, Hans Koch. Other performances have included work with Carla Bley, Albert Mangelsdorff, Bob Stewart, Edvard Vesala, Charlie Mariano, Manfred Schoof, Iréne Schweizer, Aldo Romano, Piérre Favre, Peter Schärli, Glenn Ferris, Wolfgang Dauner, Fernando Sounders, Heiri Känzig, Julio Barreto, Sonny Sharrock, Jim Meneses, Keven Bruce Harris, Martin Schütz, Daniel Mouton, Ronan Guilfoyle, Marc Peterson, Burhan Oecal, Werner Lüdi, Christoph Baumann, Lars Lindvall, Mark Halbheer, Urs Blöchlinger, Günter Müller, Lauren Newton, Tim Berne, Jim Black, Gunther Schuller, Airto Moreira a.o. He has toured in Europe, North-Africa, India, the Caribic, Mexico, Bolivia, the U.S. and Canada. 1989 began a collaboration with trombonist Ray Anderson, which lead to the trio ANDERSON/BENNINK/DORAN (including drummer Han Bennink), which disbanded 1997. 1993 Christy Doran, together with Fredy Studer started the project "DORAN/STUDER/MINTON/BATES & ALI" play the music of JIMI HENDRIX". 1994 Django Bates was replaced by cellist Tom Cora. 1995/96 the band played in quartet with Phil Minton, Amin Ali, Fredy Studer and Christy Doran. Tours with this band throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the US and Canada. Since 1993 Christy Doran is working with American flutist Robert Dick and English drummer Steve Argüelles as the A.D.D. - Trio. 1994 Fredy Studer and Christy Doran refounded the double-bass - quartet with Jean-François Jenny-Clark (acoustic bass/Paris) and Jamaaladeen Tacuma (electric bass/Philadelphia). 1994 Swedish saxofonist Thomas Jàderlund invited Doran to play in the "Amazing Orchestra" (with Guy Klucevsek, Stein-Erik Tafjord, Svante Henryson, Tomasz Stanko, and Jonny Axelsson). A new collaboration with Albert Mangelsdorff, Bruno Spoerri and Reto Weber started 1997.
Recordings have included those with Hank Roberts, Joe McPhee, Corin Curschellas, Hardy Hepp, Helmut Zerlett, Iréne Lorenz, Boris Salchak, besides several recordings with musicians mentioned above. Christy Doran´s current groups include "Christy Doran´s New Bag" (founded Dec. 97) with vocalist Bruno Amstad, Wolfgang Zwiauer on electric bass, and Fabian Kurattli on drums. the A.D.D. trio, and "Spöerri-Doran-Weber" with Albert Mangelsdorff. Christy Doran also teaches at the "Musikhochschule" of Lucerne/Switzerland.