Notes racing along the linear avenues of sheet music typically translate to the depression of a key or the drawing of a bow, the marks themselves intended to be played, not spoken. But when you take a tangle of notes, draw a big breath, and say, Da-um, bod, bit de-urridum baoum, datn bwat, BAAAOW-WAOW, youre having a conversation with the music that few people understand and even fewer dare to have. Youre speaking scat.
Nikki Yanofsky was fluent in scat, the art of improvising vocals with nothing more than syllables, by the time she stepped on stage at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival. She was 12 the youngest performer ever to headline the event.
At 13, videos circulated of her pitch-perfect interpretation of Ella Fitzgeralds scat-infused Airmail Special performances that had to be seen to be believed.
By the more mature age of 14 shed worked with the New York Philharmonic, Will.i.am., Wyclef Jean and Herbie Hancock.
And at the age of 16, her voice, tucked away in her petite 54 frame, brought 3.5 billion viewers to attention with her rendition of O Canada at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She also sang the official promotional song, I Believe.
Now 19, we caught up with the rapid-fire, Quincy Jones-backed Montreal native by phone, to find out why the young sensation is still hooked on the sophisticated genre of jazz. She's performing June 29 at the Vogue Theatre as part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. You can buy tickets here.
How has your sound evolved from when you broke out in 2006? When I first started out, it was more like me just singing standards and covers, and kind of imitating. Now that Im older and Im writing, I have my own sound. This new album [Little Secret] and tour that Im about to go on will really reflect all that. Im still doing jazz, but Im mixing jazz with contemporary sounds and pop to create something new, which was my goal all along.
Do you feel pressure to stick to traditional jazz? I think that people are really excited to hear a different side. Ive kind of been doing the same thing for six years. In the seventh year, its a little bit different. I think that more people will be able to appreciate it. Jazz kind of has a stigma of being an older persons genre, but Im young and I love it. I wanted to expose the goodness, and the fun, and the catchiness of jazz to people my age, too.
Tell me about some of your peers in your generation of jazz? Jamie Cullum is amazing, and hes kind of mixing pop and jazz and people are super open to that. Also, one of my favourite piano players EVER, and he happens to be 27, is Alfredo Rodriguez. Another great artist in jazz is Andreas Varady. Hes 15 and a guitar virtuoso.
Describe your relationship with Quincy Jones: I'm signed to his production company. He's been co-managing me and he's also executive producing my album, so he's been a huge mentor and a huge supporter of mine. I'm really blessed to know him. He took me under his wing when I was 15 and his stories are amazing. These heroes, people that he's worked with, talking about recording Sinatra at the Sands and those kinds of things. He's also just so nice.
One thing he's always taught me is check your ego at the door. He says that to everybody, and he's like the perfect example of that because he's got a lot to be proud of. I mean, he has the most Grammy nominations in history! [79] And he just doesn't care. He just does it for the music. Even now, he's 80 years old and still at it.
Is there a jazz song that you think represents Vancouver? The cool thing with jazz is it can speak to everybody, but... Vancouver is always pretty cloudy [she laughs] so Id probably pick something thats a little bit moody to go with the weather. Maybe, So What something like that, because its always cloudy and people are so friendly anyway. Its just like, So what??
Three years after your Olympic moment, and the massive response to I Believe, do you still like the song? I love the song! Whenever I hear it, it brings back all those memories for me. It was played a LOT so Im sure some people are tired of it, but I really like it still. A lot has changed since then. The cool thing about that song is it got me a lot of eyes a lot of people who hadnt heard of me before heard of me through that song. So I think that its helped me immensely to get good jazz out there, in terms of people being open to it because I do more than just jazz.
Why is the jazz festival format important for artists? Festivals are really fun because the crowds are way more open minded. It takes a bit of the pressure off when you perform at a jazz festival, because you dont have to win anyone over; they already like jazz. Its also great for artist development because they always bring up-and-comers that not everyone has heard of.
What do you have planned for your set? Im going to be doing a lot of new material. People can expect a different vibe on stage completely: Ive got a whole new band, theyre all Berkeley graduates, theyre all like, my age, so its like being on stage with your friends. Its going to be a big party, everyones going to want to dance and sing.
What do you think surprises people the most when they see you live for the first time? Probably that I'm small. [laughs] People for some reason think I'm really tall.
Do you have a goal youve set for yourself that you havent achieved yet? I think this album is working towards the goal that I have, which is to bring jazz to my generation in a way that they dont really realize its actually jazz. Because its just good music.
