Had to catch this 12 year old after hearing about her in the Gazette. Wow, just weird! She belts out R&B, Soul and Jazz standards with a powerhouse voice, but what throws you for a loop is hearing her 12 year old voice in between the songs. Her name is Nikki Yanofsky and she sang at the Scene Alcan stage in front of Complexe Desjardins at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm (certainly past her bedtime but it’s Jazz Fest time so what the heck…).

We were on our way to the Susie Arioli show at the Spectrum (10:00 pm) and what with the Neville Brothers playing on the main stage: Scene General Motors at 9:00 pm (talk about crowded) we decided to sneak around by rue St-Urbain. Stopped at the Scene Loto-Quebec to catch a few tunes by Sue Foley. Too bad we couldn’t stay for more than a few tunes - sounded very good.

Susie Arioli, Jordan Officer and band started later than advertised (~ 10:20) but they didn’t disappoint. Playing two sets of standards and originals until well after midnight. The crowd was treated to great vocals from Susie and her backup singers and some dazzling guitar work from Jordan and Michael J. Browne. The rhythm section was tight and kept the groove going all night. Unfortunately pictures can’t be taken of the indoors shows without proper authorization.