Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
New Music / Nikki Yanofsky / Nikki (Decca/Universal)
IT took K'naan's Wavin' Flag to finally knock I Believe out of my head after hearing the Olympic theme song more than 40,000 times in February, so seeing it tacked on the end of the 16-year-old jazz vocalist's new disc as a bonus track was a pleasant surprise since I could press stop before it wormed its way back into my cerebral cortex.
The drecktastic anthem has obviously struck an emotional chord with people: it has reportedly sold 150,000 digital singles, making Yanofsky the youngest Canadian artist in history to go triple platinum.
Thankfully, it's an aberration on her second album.
The rest of the 14-track disc is filled with tastefully arranged covers and originals, four written with Ron Sexsmith and Jesse Harris, the man who wrote the Norah Jones smash Don't Know Why. None of the tracks equals the Jones' hit, but Take the "A" Train is zippy fun with some contemporary lyrics thrown in; On the Sunny Side of the Street is seamlessly meshed with Led Zeppelin's Fool in the Rain; and her scat skills get a good workout on I Got Rhythm. Jazz is the focus, but on the original Grey Skies and Feist's Try Try Try she shows off her soulful side, which belies her young age, as does her voice, a huge, powerful instrument up front and centre on every song.
Not everything is perfect -- Over the Rainbow recalls a diva-ish American Idol performance, for example -- and it's mostly predictable and safe, but it's a mature effort that hasn't been dumbed down to appeal to everyone or rake in some of those teen girls inflicted with Bieber fever. Yanofsky just might have a future in the Canadian music industry, believe it or not. Check her out at the 2010 edition of the Jazz Winnipeg Festival. 3 stars
-- Rob Williams
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 24, 2010 C4
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