Sophie Milman: All That Jazz

“If I can’t sing jazz, then I’d rather not sing!” exclaimed jazz sensation Sophie Milman over the phone lines from Toronto, a place that she calls home. Milman need not explain herself. Her passion for jazz is evident on her album Make Someone Happy.
The 24-year-old Russian-born beauty’s talent shines on this 13-track CD. Full of youth and soul, Make Someone Happy pays tribute to some of history’s greatest legends, covering classics like Stevie Wonder’s “Rocket Love”, Fiddler on the Roof’s “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “(It’s Not Easy) Bein’ Green”, the children’s ballad originally sung by Kermit the Frog.
Impressively, Milman’s cover of The Guess Who’s “Undun” features the band’s original guitarist Randy Bachman. Each track is a gem, wrapped in a contemporary sound laced with maturity and control. “I was always 14 going on 40,” said Milman on her style.
Make Someone Happy is Milman’s follow-up to her self-titled debut, which sold 100,000 copies and hit the Canadian Top 5 in 2004. Milman credits many artists and inspirations; however, she strives to create a sound of her own, as heard in Milman’s burning reinvention of Ella Fitzgerald’s classic, “Fever”. “I have too much respect for music to go out there trying to sound like Ella,” Milman explained. “I have to find my own way. People go for the sex in “Fever.” We went for the daydream.” Breaking through the cover-clich