Sophie Milman’s playlist

“If I can’t sing jazz, I’d rather not sing,” says 2012 Juno Award nominee Sophie Milman.

The jazz sensation need not explain herself, her passion for the genre is evident. It just doesn’t get any more obvious than her latest album In the Moonlight nominated for Jazz Vocal Album of the Year.

Paying tribute to the greats and backed by an array of talented musicians, Sophie’s vocals soar with a sound that is rich, contemporary and controlled. Here’s a woman who’s not even 30 and it sounds like she’s been doing this forever.

“I was always 14 going on 40,” the singer says.

Sophie continuously breaks through the cover-cliché, reinventing classics and making them her own. This isn’t a wedding singer with shallow cover songs in her back pocket.

Like each of her previous albums, In the Moonlight relays the same message, Sophie was born to sing jazz.

Here’s a playlist the chanteuse can’t live without.

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Superwoman – Stevie Wonder

“I love this songs because it’s Stevie at his best: extremely inventive, creative; with beautiful and poignant lyrics (quite autobiographical) and an absolutely haunting melody. He bends the rules of music to his will rather than being limited by traditional pop-song format. No one writes these kinds of songs anymore. Amazing!”

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Tightrope – Janelle Monae
“Janelle Monae is wonderful and I adore the video to this song as well. The retro funk-pop- R&B fusion in this great tune grabbed me the minute I heard it on the radio. Janelle is all over my iPod.”

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Make Someone Happy – Carmen McRae
“So beautiful and touching! Carmen has a way of delivering lyrics in a way no other singer I know can. Breathtaking and really brings the point home. Can you believe she never won a jazz Grammy?”

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Hallelujah – k.d. lang
“So incredible! An amazing song to begin with (the Leonard Cohen original is fantastic), but k.d. renders it absolutely sublime!”

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Adieu Mon Coeur – Edith Piaf
“I love all of Piaf’s work, but this is one of her lesser known numbers, so I wanted to share it. Absolutely beautiful, heart-breaking lyrics delivered in Piaf’s own inimitable style.”

The 2012 Juno Awards air April 1 on CTV. Connect with Sophie on twitter and facebook. Sophie’s latest album, In The Moonlight, is available now.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Mar 27 2012. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.