Nikki Yanofsky - Ella... Of Thee I Swing (2008)

Tracks

01 - Lullaby Of Birdland
02 - It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
03 - Swingin' On The Moon
04 - You've Changed
05 - Flyin' Home
06 - Relax Max
07 - Old MacDonald
08 - Hear Me Talkin' To Ya
09 - Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues
10 - At Last
11 - The Way You Look Tonight
12 - A Tisket, A Tasket
13 - Over The Rainbow
14 - 'Deed I Do
15 - Vote For Mr. Rhythm
16 - Evil Gal Blues
17 - With A Little Help From My Friends

In a post-millennium music market, most teen pop personalities are compared to Miley Cyrus before they are compared to Celine Dion. However, Montreal's Nikki Yanofsky's mastered range and voice certainly liken her more to the latter: not to say that she is classic or irrelevant, simply that she has a wicked talent with a mature charisma well beyond her years. This is proven triumphantly on Ella...Of Thee I Swing, a debut that doesn't try to dominate pop radio waves with bubblegum mush, rather one that pays tribute to the classic jazz numbers which have ultimately inspired the cultured teen. Ella is more than just a standard tribute album: it's an 18-track piece of musical magic. The album stands out because of Yanofsky's covers of more mainstream numbers. Few can ever cover original tracks like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "The Way You Look Tonight," or "At Last" with such awe-inspiring vocals. However, Yanofsky proves that at 15 years old, she can tackle these great numbers effortlessly. Ella...Of Thee I Swing wont have you bopping your head in your car like 95-percent of teen pop stars' music does, but it will make you feel like you are listening to a genuinely fantastic collection of brilliant pop and jazz music, sung through the body of an impressive young talent who, bar none, stands as the best pop voice under 20 in the post-millennium music scene to date.

Matthew Chisling