Canadian Jazz Sensation Nikki Yanofsky to Play Spencer Theater 4/23

Easter Weekend brings one of the jazz world's hottest young singers to the Spencer Theater for a popping jazz performance April 23 at 7 p.m. Nikki Yanofsky hasn't yet graduated from high school, but she's gathered an impressive collection of recordings and awards since her debut at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival, where she wowed the audience with the Ella Fitzgerald classic, "It Don't Mean a Thing If it Ain't Got That Swing."

Nikki has recorded and performed with musical greats like Herbie Hancock, hip hop artist Wyclef Jean, Etta James, Diana Krall, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett and the cast of "Glee." Her tribute album, "Ella...Of Thee I Swing" won her Juno nominations (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for both New Artist of the Year and Vocal Jazz Album of the year.

The stunning musical prodigy was a featured artist at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Her performances at the opening and closing ceremonies were seen by an estimated worldwide audience of 3.2 billion. She is using her budding fame to raise money for relief in Haiti, recording with fellow Canadian artists to raise over $10 million.

Nikki Yanofsky is a young talent with a bright future. Appearing with her band, Rob Fahie on upright & electric bass, John Sadowy on piano & keyboards, Andy Dacoulis on guitar and Richard Irwin on drums, Nikki's performance at the Spencer is her last gig in the U.S. before launching a May and June concert tour in London, Manchester and Paris. Catch her act and earn bragging rights to say, "I saw her when...."

"She is from heaven and gives me hope for the future of music.", said Quincy Jones.

Excellent seats are available for $59 & $56. Call the Spencer Box Office t 575.336.4800 or go online to www.spencertheater.com for tickets.

Spencer Theater is a world-class performance hall located in the Sacramento Mountain settlement of Alto, about 12 miles north of downtown Ruidoso. Unique architecture, outstanding acoustics, intimate seating, and excellent artistry are the Spencer's celebrated features. The elegant, award-winning hall, which first raised its curtains in 1997, seats 514, with no seats farther than 67 feet from the 4,770 square-foot stage. The Spencer also has a 964 square-foot outdoor stage that can seat 1,500. From its Spanish mica-flecked limestone face to the crystal lobby, the building itself is a work of art. Free public tours are offered at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year.

NIKKI YANOFSKY

Professional Biography

Nikki Yanofsky is a 17?year?old 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. Early accomplishments in her career were plentiful. At age 13, 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 began an ongoing collaboration with Marvin Hamlisch that has taken her across North America to perform with many esteemed symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. She 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. The song was included in French and English on the Canadian release of the soundtrack, and in the bonus features of the worldwide DVD release. Nikki has also starred with renowned hip?hop artist Wyclef Jean on episodes of PBS' current version of The Electric Company and spent her fourteenth birthday at Carnegie Hall being 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 and gold-level sales, it earned Nikki two Juno nominations, 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 estimated at 3.2 billion people. Nikki was also chosen to sing I Believe, the anthem for Canadian spirit during the Olympics. Written by Stephan Moccio (Celine Dion) and Alan Frew (Glass Tiger), 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, making Nikki the youngest artist to ever achieve quadruple-platinum status in Canada. That same week, Ella... of Thee I Swing went back to the top of the iTunes Canada Jazz Albums Chart and her single I Got Rhythm went to the top of the iTunes Canada Jazz Songs Chart. This was the first time since the inception of digital downloading that an artist has held these #1 positions concurrently.

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 hit song Wavin' Flag for Young Artists for Haiti. Being sold on iTunes as a single and video, the proceeds have directly impacted the lives of children, families and communities in Haiti through the relief and rebuilding efforts of Free the Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada. The local, national and international charity events that Nikki has been involved with to date have raised well over $10 million.

Nikki's first studio album, Nikki, was released by Decca Records in the spring of 2010. The album opened in Canada in the top 5 and achieved gold sales status within 3 months. In the United States, Nikki debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Produced by 14?time Grammy Award?winner Phil Ramone and Grammy-Award winner Jesse Harris (Norah Jones), Nikki features new arrangements of classic jazz songs as well as some of Nikki's first original music. It includes collaborations with Harris and celebrated Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, as well as a song written for Nikki by Feist.

A sold-out concert in Nikki's hometown of Montreal was filmed and released on DVD as Live In Montreal. The receptive audience was treated to a set by Nikki, backed by her band as well as a full horn section and backup vocalists, who performed the jazz and pop classics she is known for, as well as several of the new originals that also appear on her debut studio album. The DVD shipped gold and is garnering rave reviews. The performance has been aired extensively on PBS, as part of their 2010 pledge drives.

Summer of 2010 saw Nikki making her initial tour of European jazz festivals, her first appearance in Israel, and a concert with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. A highlight of the European tour was a special guest appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Quincy Jones' Global Gumbo All-Stars, in which Nikki had the honor of performing with many of the greatest jazz musicians alive, including the iconic Herbie Hancock. The concert was filmed in HD, and is being planned for a 2011 DVD & Blu-Ray release.

With barely time to rest, Nikki began the fall of 2010 with her first extensive tour of the United States, a partnership with PBS affiliates nationwide. Additionally, Nikki made her fourth visit to Japan in sixteen months, as well as debuting at the famed Pizza Express club in London as part of a promotional tour of the UK. She also performed at influential Paris jazz club Duc Des Lombards, in anticipation of the European release of Nikki. One week later, the album debuted at #1 on the French jazz charts. On October 16, 2010, Nikki was the inaugural recipient of the first annual Allan Slaight Award; one of the highest honors of her young career. This award recognizes excellence, philanthropy and longevity in a young Canadian in the performing arts and was presented at the Canada Walk Of Fame Awards gala. A week after this esteemed honor, Nikki was in New York City making her debut at the world famous jazz club, The Blue Note, selling out both sets with lineups around the block.

2010 closed in top form when iTunes worldwide named Nikki as the Vocal Jazz Album Of The Year in their annual Rewind list.

2011 will surely be another benchmark year in the career of the young prodigy. Nikki will hit the ground running when during Grammy weekend, she will reunite with Herbie Hancock in Los Angeles for a performance at a MusiCares Foundation gala honoring Barbra Streisand. The star-studded bill also includes Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, and the cast of Glee, among others. Additionally, Nikki's plans include a jazz vocal all-star concert tour entitled Three Generations Of Divas in which she will be appearing with superstars Dianne Reeves and Jane Monheit, promotion behind the highly anticipated UK release of Nikki, and several months spent away from the spotlight, writing and recording songs for her second studio album for Decca Records, expected for a fall 2011 release. With all of these heavy commitments, Nikki will also find time to keep up her "A" average in her last year of high school, and prepare for her graduation in the spring!

With professional and artistic success on an incline with no end in sight, the future is bright for Nikki Yanofsky.