comment peux tu ne pas aimer une jeune avec autant de talent pour sonage, Obélix est tomber dans la possion magique et Nikki est née dans une portée de jazz.
She has such a stunning voice. Amazing, especially considering how young she was in this. She's breathing life into a genre of music I never expected young people to appreciate like this. Just splendid.
Agree with you! Also seen people saying that someone should teach her how to improvise ... o.O but if someone teaches her that... then that becomes a pattern.. She will learn on her own which is best, i know she will. Thanks to the user for uploading this.
inovation and experimentalism has its place in music but not to the detriment of preservation. Music whether classical, jazz or blues needs both traditionalists and innovators. So I welcome her approach to jazz and praise her for her commitment to the traditional genre which helps to perserve the art form.
since people have been asking, here's song titles as best as I can figure. minus #4, the only one I don't recognize :( any help? 1)Take the A Train 2)Hallelujah I love Her So 3) God Bless The Child 4)? 5)I Got Rhythm 6) Relax Max 7)Wind Cries Mary 8)The Circle Game 9) Old McDonald all wonderful! Way to go, Nikki! :)
Amazing talent. I'm sure father Richard (pianist) has a lot to do with her direction and talent. She's the real deal-total package. It wouldn't be a great Montreal Jazz Festival without her ! A Camp Baco graduate.
She's the best performer i've heard lately, she's much better then Christina Aguilera, or Beyonce or Leona Lewis or any other "DIVA" at this hour! And she's still so young! I hope she'll get what she deserves, to be the most famous singer in the world, she is too good, damn it!
Truth be told most jazz players have "patterns" they know will work over certain changes. Listen to out takes from old Blue Note sessions and hear are similar the solos (not all) are. Being a "jazz singer" isn't always about scat singing a solo but rather how they approach and re-imagine a song's melody without losing the lyrical content and emotion and meaning. Billie Holiday comes to mind. This girl has the tools to do it but there are many other elements she has to offer too. Time will tell.
i saw her saturday too!!! shes gotten sooo good.... and beleive me im picky..lol shes only freking 15 and i can compare her to big pop stars already... she'll learn how to improvise in time.... you need to imitate before you can come up with you're own..... watch her in a few years she'll kick EVERYONES BOTTOM!!!!.LOLOL
@fusionjazzband: give her a break! She's got a great voice and jazz technique. Nobody here is saying that she's the next Ella Fitzgerald (who, by the way, wasn't even singing yet at 16). I don't know how you can say that she doesn't even show a tinge of originality - she is clearly interpreting, rather than simply reproducing this music. On another note, your comments might generate less negative feedback if you'd take the time to check your spelling and grammar before posting.
I think you nailed it. You can "hear the sound of money". I'm sure she will be successful. But it will be in the pop genre. All I'm saying is that as a pathologic jazz lover i seek out modern day versions of the giants of the past. Frankly, few current singers make the cut for me. (I do like Roberta Gamborini a lot though) This young lady is a most talented pop singer who has chosen to use jazz as a vehicle. Many I'm sure will like her. I for one do not.
She really has the swing !!! If she manages to get rid of a small tendency of pushing her beautiful voice and singing like Celine Dion sometimes :-(, she can really become one of a kind jazz singer. Otherwise she will just be another did-you-see-how-I-can-sing-high-and-loud singer.
Have to agree. I heard her interviewed a few weeks ago and she said she became interested in jazz from listening to Ella. There is nothing of Ella in this young lady's singing. In fact, with due respect all I hear is your typical pop singer inflections overlaying the singing of some jazz material. Not saying she isn't very talented. But a jazz singer, not unless you think today's pop diva's are jazz singers.
This is just ridiculous! Are you guys actually implying that there is a genre of music that can only exist so long as people don't generally like it?? It is one thing to be disappointed in sell-outs who compromise their music to achieve a larger fan-base. It is quite another to say a singer is no longer genuine, just because many people happen to like her music. And, by the way, for her age Yanofsky has outstanding talent. There's no need to cheapen that with arbitrary distinctions.
If repeating is not in the spirit of jazz, kindly explain why many of the greats cover songs, adding their own twists (which is what is being done here). Nikki might have a bit to go, but she's young, and it doesn't have to be completely jazzy to be jazz, you know? Many of Ella's songs are pure blues. All music is experimental, since new songs are being made. "True" jazz reminds one of pretentious snobs. Music is meant to be heard, not picked apart and studied -- and to each their own ears.