NIKKI YANOFSKY

Nikki Yanofsky is a Canadian musical prodigy. Since her debut at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival, where she won the hearts of the 100,000+ audience, Nikki 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, Nikki was asked to record “Gotta Go My Own Way” for Disney’s smash hit High School Musical 2.

Nikki 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, Nikki released Ella… of Thee I Swing – a live CD/DVD package recorded in Montreal. Garnering critical acclaim, it earned Nikki two Juno nominations including New Artist of the Year and Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.

Most recently, Nikki 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, Nikki was introduced to a world-wide audience. Nikki was also chosen to sing “I Believe,” the anthem of Canada’s Broadcast Consortium. 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.

Nikki 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. Nikki has also recently joined her fellow Canadian artists in recording K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” for Young Artists for Haiti.

Already a veteran of the touring circuit, Nikki 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 Catalina’s Jazz Club in Los Angeles and even Tokyo’s historic Kabuki-za.