Biography

At the tender age of ten, when most kids are online checking out the latest teen idol, Nikki Yanofsky was discovering the magic of Ella Fitzgerald and listening to jazz classics “It Don’t Mean A Thing” and “A Tisket, A Tasket.”

A few short years later, just past her 13th birthday, the budding young singer was in a recording studio with Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and some of L.A.’s top session musicians, brilliantly scatting her way through Lady Ella’s classic “Airmail Special” for Verve Records’ all-star collection We All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song.   Nikki more than held her own with the legendary artists on the album, including Michael Buble, k.d. lang, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Etta James, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan, Lizz Wright, Dianne Reeves, Linda Ronstadt and Gladys Knight.  Reviews of the track came from all over the world – Rashad D. Olson of the Baltimore Sun said:  “A mouth dropping scat vocal performance by Nikki Yanofsky, a 13 year old Canadian who’s gifted with a crystal tone and an expansive range.”   And Paul Nazassri of the Sunday Mail from Queensland, Australia wrote:  “...but shockingly, it’s 13-year-old Nikki Yanofsky who takes the (cake) with Airmail Special”

The release of this recording in June 2007 capped an amazing whirlwind year for the now 14-year-old vocal sensation, as Nikki wowed two ecstatic 100,000+ audiences at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival by belting out Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder melodies, scatting Ella standards and performing her unique interpretations of other jazz, soul and blues classics.  Nikki made a return visit to the event in 2007, selling out a four-night run at Place des Arts that lived up to The Globe and Mail’s acclaim that “this Montreal teenager has taste beyond her years and vocal chops to spare.” After his very first rehearsal with Nikki, Canadian jazz legend, pianist Oliver Jones raved “…jazz is alive and well in Canada!”   Following her return to the Montreal Festival she amazed both audiences and critics alike at the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, The Ottawa Blues Fest and The Festival d’Ete in Quebec City.

“It’s the most rewarding, fulfilling feeling in the world having the crowd applaud after I sing,” says Nikki, “it shows that they really appreciate all the hard work that goes into my performance.  It’s so cool to see them getting up, dancing or just clapping and stomping along.  I’ve enjoyed all the gigs I’ve done but that first time in front of 125,000 at the Montreal festival was really fun. Being onstage is a very comfortable place for me.”

Over the past 18 months, Nikki has made numerous television and radio appearances in both English and French, including national news documentaries on both CBC and CTV.   She has been the subject of countless magazine and newspaper profiles, including full page feature articles in The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette and La Presse.  She has sung the national anthems at Montreal Canadiens’ hockey games, at the opening ceremonies of a NASCAR event and at a Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

More recently, she collaborated with Grammy-Award winning artists Herbie Hancock and will.i.am on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s audio book “On the Shoulders of Giants”, recording the swing-era classic “Stompin’ at the Savoy.”  She performed with Colin James as part of his Christmas season tour at both Place des Arts in Montreal and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa; appeared at the Air Jamaica Jazz Festival in Montego Bay, Jamaica, opening for Billy Ocean and Diana Ross and had her solo concert debut in Toronto with two sold out shows.  On February, 8, 2008 (her 14th  birthday!), she was featured at Carnegie Hall in New York City with famed Grammy, Tony, Emmy and Oscar award winning composer Marvin Hamlisch andthe New York Pops Orchestra.

In addition to her numerous musical activities, Nikki is also incredibly dedicated to working with many cancer and children’s-related charities.  Purely on her own initiative, she used her first paycheque to start the Nikki Yanofsky Foundation at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.  Along with this, she has recently been asked and is the spokesperson for “oneXone”, a non-profit foundation committed to supporting, preserving and improving the lives of children in Canada and around the world.  To date, Nikki has been involved in events that have raised over six-million dollars for local, national and international charities. In her charitable work she has shared the stage with such luminaries as Matt Damon, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, Sarah Mclaughlin and Shakira.

“The most exciting thing that’s happening is that I’m living my dream at a young age,” Nikki says. “I just want to keep on doing what I love, which is singing and performing. I want to continue to enjoy all of these wonderful experiences and most of all help those less fortunate than I and have fun along the way.”

Nikki is currently preparing for her first solo recording project which will be produced by 14-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Phil Ramone.