Nikki Yanofsky
@ the PizzaExpress Jazz Club
8 - 9 September 2010

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Shockingly confident, frighteningly mature, with a larger-than-life voice capable of bringing a fresh youthful spark to jazz standards while still respecting the jazz vocal idiom. Nikki Yanofsky has already developed a captivating stage presence with a natural charm that warms your heart.

“ I would not say I am a ‘jazz vocalist’, I love jazz, r&b and pop…I love what I do… there is nothing about it I do not like, it’s so much fun!”
Nikki Yanofsky

Biography

Nikki Yanofsky is a 16-year-old musical prodigy. Since her debut at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival, where she won the hearts of the 100,000+ audience, Yanofsky has never looked back. She was the youngest singer ever on a Verve Records release when she recorded “Airmail Special” for the Ella Fitzgerald tribute album, We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song, alongside such musical luminaries as Etta James, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Krall and Natalie Cole. She has also recorded the swing-era classic, “Stompin’ at the Savoy” with Grammy Award-winning artists Herbie Hancock and Will.i.am for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s audio book, On the Shoulders of Giants. Also, in the realm of popular music, Yanofsky was asked to record “Gotta Go My Own Way” for Disney’s smash hit High School Musical 2. The song was included in French and English on the Canadian release of the soundtrack, and in the bonus features of the worldwide DVD release. Yanofsky has also starred with renowned hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean on episodes of PBS’ current version of The Electric Company and has been broadcast internationally on PBS’s youth talent showcase From the Top. In 2008, Yanofsky released “Ella… of Thee I Swing” – a live CD/DVD package recorded in Montreal. Garnering critical acclaim, it earned Yanofsky two Juno nominations including New Artist of the Year and Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.

Most recently, Nikki Yanofsky was a featured artist at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games held in Vancouver. Performing at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics as well as the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, Yanofsky was introduced to a worldwide audience. She was also chosen to sing “I Believe,” the anthem of Canada’s Broadcast Consortium. Written by Stephan Moccio and Alan Frew, this song quickly became a #1 hit on iTunes Canada and the Billboard Canada Top 100 chart. The single had the highest first-week sales of any Canadian artist in SoundScan history and was certified quadruple-platinum. That same week, Ella… of Thee I Swing went back to the top of the iTunes Canada Jazz Albums Chart and her single “I Got Rhythm” went to the top of the iTunes Canada Jazz Songs Chart. This was the first time since the inception of digital downloading that an artist has held these #1 positions concurrently.

Yanofsky has used her budding fame to help the underprivileged – becoming an ambassador for the Montreal Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Wish Foundation and MusiCounts. She has also recently joined her fellow Canadian artists in recording K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” for Young Artists for Haiti. Being sold on iTunes as a single and video, the proceeds will directly impact the lives of children, families and communities in Haiti through the relief and rebuilding efforts of Free the Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada. The local, national and international charity events that Nikki has been involved with to date have raised well over $10 million.

Already a veteran of the touring circuit, Nikki Yanofsky has played to sold-out crowds at jazz festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Sapporo and Montego Bay, played Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and Avery Fischer Hall with renowned composer and conductor, Marvin Hamlisch and has performed before full houses at Dizzy’s in New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center, the famed Catalin’'s Jazz Club in Los Angeles and even Tokyo’s historic Kabuki-za.

Yanofsky’s first studio album, “Nikki”, will be released by Decca Records in the spring of 2010. Produced by 15-time Grammy Award-winning producer Phil Ramone, it features new arrangements of classic jazz songs as well as some of Yanofsky’s first original music. It includes collaborations with fellow Canadian Ron Sexsmith and Grammy Award-winning songwriter Jesse Harris as well as a song written for Nikki by Feist.

Desert Island Discs

Which 2 albums would you take with you to a desert island?

The Beetles – Abbey Road
Ella Fitzgerald – The Cole Porter Son Book

Robin Francis
© Michael Valentine Studio Ltd.