This girl is captivating. She's only 17 years old and she sings like she's been listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Louis Armstrong since the womb. Her affectation and ornamentation are just perfect. Her voice is simply beyond her years. For all my love for Norah Jones and her queenship over modern jazz, Nikki is perched on the edge of her seat, ready to take over as soon as the mainstream U.S. music audience notices her.
Nikki's career began at age 12, when she sang in the Montreal International Jazz Festival -- the youngest headliner ever. She's Canadian, so she sang at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Two albums released (2008 and 2010), but so far she's getting way less attention in the States than in ol' Canada. I guess the music scene up there is slightly more jazz and talent than gangsta rap and Rebecca Black.
Speaking of Rebecca Black, if she's the sort of young artist the U.S. is producing, and Nikki is what Canada is producing...well, damn it all to hell, I need to learn French and move up-continent.
It's fun to find these in-studio recordings too; they feel so up-close and personal. The song itself was written in 1952 in reference to Charlie "Bird" Parker, and it charted in 1954 thanks to Ella Fitzgerald. Enjoy.
If I could trade lives/bodies/talents with anyone in the world, Norah Jones is definitely a finalist. She's just effortless -- she released four albums between 2002 and 2009 that achieved the ridiculous: Every single track is a masterpiece. She's hands-down the best modern jazz singer out there, and with nine Grammys to show for it.
Guys, if you want to induce a relaxed, come-hither evening, just put on some Norah Jones. Works every time. Enjoy.
