As a blonde jazz vocalist who can knock the pants off a tune, Toronto's Milman will inevitably get Diana Krall comparisons. But while the young chanteuse shares the brazen confidence of Ms. Krall, her style is more old New York, inflected with cabaret and practically requiring a dirty martini.
Sophie Milman is a 22-year-old Russian born singer who is on her way to becoming an international Jazz sensation. Sophie is a household name in Canada where her debut self-titled album was the breakthrough jazz album of the year and remains in the year's Top 5 best sellers according to Neilson-Soundscan, right alongside international stars Diana Krall, Michael Buble, & Madeline Peroulx.
Born in the Ural Mountains of Russia, Sophie Milman's family escaped to Israel at the collapse of communism and relocated to Canada a few years later. Little remained from the upheaval other than some family heirlooms and a cherished vinyl record collection. It was that music that became the foundation of Sophie's love of jazz from as far back as she could remember.
Sophie Milman's formative years were spent growing up in Israel where she started listening to Jazz intensively and a fostered a deep appreciation for artists such as, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, Stevie Wonder, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and many more. At the age of 15, Sophie's family uprooted to Canada. After a brief period of adjusting to her new surroundings, Sophie was introduced to the rich & diverse musical landscape of Toronto's music scene.
‘I love Toronto. I love the fact that you can find every type of music in this city. I love Toronto's openness to new styles and ideas. It creates such an eclectic and rich musical and cultural palette.’
Although Sophie always loved to sing, her professional career as a singer came about quite accidentally. Her first thoughts of entering the jazz world professionally came about when she was encouraged to sit in on a local jazz series called Real Divas coordinated by Canadian jazz impresario/ musician/producer, Bill King. That got the ball rolling - the response was overwhelming. A few performances later Linus Entertainment President & CEO Geoff Kulawick went to see a show and offered her a recording contract. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Sophie Milman's debut self-titled CD is a collection of Jazz standards and contemporary new compositions that together showcase the maturity and originality of this young Jazz singer, skillfully produced by the aforementioned Bill King, and Danny Greenspoon.
Headlining sold out 500+ capacity venues on her first tour this summer, Sophie and her band performed at every major Canadian jazz festival, including the prestigious Festival International Du Jazz Du Montreal - which sold out two months in advance.
The beautiful and critically acclaimed jazz singer has graced the cover of New York's Forward newspaper, Voir Magazine in Montreal, Lifestyles Magazine, and Klublife Magazine in Toronto. She is also a full time University of Toronto commerce student and is fluent in four languages. Expect big things internationally from Sophie Milman after her debut album is released in early 2006 through KOCH Entertainment in the USA and in Japan on JVC.