Nikki Yanofsky: ‘The Vocal Jazz Wonder’

The name Nikki Yanofsky may not ring a bell (yet!) to some people even if she’s making great stride as a jazz-pop artist and has this early earned the title “The Vocal Jazz Wonder.”

After her eponymous debut (studio) album released in 2010, her second one will be released worldwide this week, titled Little Secret (Universal Music International), executive produced by the legendary Quincy Jones who is co-managing Nikki. Jones has been bridging gaps between jazz and pop since the ‘60s and that’s the path Nikki’s career is taking.

A native of Canada, Nikki has brought jazz into a pop context starting in 2001 when she performed with Hancock for the MusiCares Person of the Year tribute to Barbra Streisand and singing at a Los Angeles tribute to Carole King with a big band conducted by Jones himself.

Jones quote-unquote: “For many years now, it has been both my dream and my goal to inspire young people to recognize and appreciate jazz and blues. Nikki is a leading voice in a generation of young artists who are bringing the quality of music back up. Little Secret is the result of years of hard work, and her stab at bringing her influences to her own generation. I’m proud to be her executive producer and excited for the world to hear this album.”

Funfare recently did an exclusive phone interview with Nikki.

Canadian artists (Justin Bieber among them) are making a big splash in the music industry today. How do you live up to the public expectation that you can be on equal footing with them?

“Oh, I think that it’s great that there are so many Canadian artists right now who are making an impact in the world, and I hope that I can be the next one. I’m glad that they are setting an example and opening doors for Canadian artists to become international rather than just in Canada or North America.”

Any of them that you idolize?

“There are so many amazing Canadian artists even from way back, like Joni Mitchell and Paul Anka. Of course, there’s Justin Bieber and others who are coming up in a big way, so they kind of serve as inspiration to me.”

Your favorite jazz artist is Ella Fitzgerald. Any other favorites and what do you learn from them?

“Yeah, I love Ella Fitzgerald. I also love Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. I have a lot of favorites.”

Any pointers from Quincy Jones — you know, how to chart your career and how to take care of your voice?

“Quincy is just as amazing. I’m also such a huge fan of his. He always reminds me, ‘Your music is as big as you are as a person.’ And that gives me great encouragement. He’s great to work with.”

How different is your album Little Secret from the first one?

“Uhm, Little Secret is pretty different from my first album. It’s a logical next step for me because I have grown a lot since the first one. It shows me growing and finding myself as an artist, what I represent and what I want to tell my fans. I’m in the process of developing my own distinct style. The album Little Secret is a statement of who I am as an artist.”

At this point, who are you as an artist?

“Well, so far I represent genuineness and I just hope that that genuineness comes through in my music. And, you know, I’m a jazz artist and I want to help bring jazz music to the young generation…mix jazz with pop in a new way. So, that’s kind of what I am today.”

You are called “The Vocal Jazz Wonder.” How do you feel about that title?

“I think it’s a good compliment but it’s maybe too soon to call me that. I just want to grow every day, listen and learn. You can’t really let stuff like that get to your head. It should instead inspire and challenge you to work harder and make you better. Yeah, it feels nice, it’s awesome. It should humble you and not affect you as a person.”

In this age of social media when everything is so transparent, when everybody feels so vulnerable, how do you deal with it? How do you handle early success?

“You know, I have really amazing fans who are so nice to me. I’m glad that I haven’t received any negative comment. There have been a few not-so-nice comments but they didn’t really hurt. I try to be positive.”

At what point in your life did you realize that you wanted to be a singer?

“Since I was born! It’s really hard to pick a point because I just always felt that singer was what I wanted to be. My parents told me that I started singing the moment I learned how to talk. I haven’t stopped singing since then.”

Are you coming to the Philippines to promote your album?

“Hopefully soon! I’ve heard really good things about the Philippines. You know, my favorite fruit is mango, the one that comes from the Philippines. I love it! I wanna try it when I go to the Philippines.”

Aside from mangoes, what else do you know about the Philippines?

“Yes, I know a bunch of Filipinos back home. You know what I realize? A lot of people from the Philippines are very musical. It’s nice, it’s great! They appreciate music and that’s very nice.”

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