Sophie Milman: Jazz star chats life, music & Moonlight Gala

Sophie Milman vividly recalls the moment she first heard jazz. Growing up in ultra-conservative Russia, she was often surrounded by heavy, sombre ethnic music. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t her thing.

Then, at the age of 7, her parents decided to move the family to Israel. The record player came along for the ride. “My dad decided I was old enough for adult music. He pulled out all this great soul and R & B: Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson. And some great pop, all the Beatles catalogue.”

She may not have realized it at the time, but those records would shape her life indelibly. After moving to Canada, Milman began to sing in Toronto jazz bars. Her deep, old-school sound made her stand out. She’s since released six studio albums, hit No. 3 on Billboard’s U.S. jazz chart and scored a Juno for best vocal jazz album. Her YouTube video of La Vie en Rose has garnered more than 1.1 million views. Consider her Canada’s Celine Dion of jazz.

And soon, Milman will bring her romantic crooning to the Moonlight Gala, the annual fundraiser for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Held on Saturday, June 6, the event offers a starry night in the countryside surrounded by art, jazz and, of course, delectable food.

Vv Magazine chatted with Milman about her booming career, Toronto’s ambivalent arts community and what to expect from her Moonlight Gala performance.

For someone who hasn’t heard you sing, how would you describe your music?

Sophie Milman: It’s always been difficult for me to classify myself. I’m definitely a jazz singer at heart. The whole jazz paradigm runs really deep in me. I love Brazilian music. i love really great R & B, 50s, 60s, 80s, modern music … I like to re-interpret that in jazz. I like to take modern music and reimagine it and make it appropriate for me.

You have a truly unique sound – somewhere between old-school and modern. Who influenced you the most?

In terms of signers who have influenced me, I’ve been listening to Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McCrae, Mary Wilson – all these phenomenal singers and musicians who really shaped my understanding of great music. I can’t say I sing like them … but I listen to them and synthesize it. And it comes out in a very strange, Russianized way.

Russianized?

I feel like there’s a lot of Russian Jewish sensibility in how I sing. We’re all products of where we come from. The klezmer thing sits deep in me. After discovering Israeli music later on in my life, that Eastern influence sits within me. Even though Carmen McRae is my favourite singer.

I read that your father really molded your taste in music. How so?

My parents are very strong in terms of culture and asserting what is good. They really taught me the difference between quality and a fad. My dad did that in music, my mom did that in literature and theatre. I grew up with a love of classics and a suspicion for everything modern. I know if I like something, but I wait to see if it sticks.

So I like music and art and theatre and culture. Even electronic. But I don’t really go for the latest-and-greatest. I’m a slow adopter to all kinds of social media. I’m old school at heart; it’s easy to tell when you listen to my music, that’s for sure.

You’ve done a lot since your first, self-titled album in 2004. What are you most proud of?

The Juno was great because it was a moment of recognition. I was nominated three times, and I’ve won some other awards, and that’s great.

My proudest moments were and always are being on stage with my band on tour. Having a really fantastic moment with the crowd, when they’re looking at you and you’re looking at them. Everything is really clicking and they’re getting you and you’re getting them. It’s magic. There’s absolutely nothing like that moment. I’ve had those experience at Massey Hall, the three times i played it. I’ve had it in Tokyo.

But I don’t want to make it sound like it’s just the big shows; it’s the little shows too. That’s the reason I got involved with the Moonlight Gala. 

Oh yeah? How is the Moonlight Gala different?

I’ve played a lot of fundraisers, and that special moment doesn’t always happen with the crowd. They’re usually sitting down, they’re shmoozing, eating, drinking; it’s not very atmospheric. The music can sometimes become background music.

At the Moonlight Gala, which I played last year, the audience was so warm. Everything just clicked. I had that moment, which is on the rare side for fundraiser gigs. I walked away saying I have to do this again.

Also, I’m a big tree hugger, so being in the middle of a forest, on that stage, in a tent outside with these beautiful, engaged people … it was magical.

What can we expect this year?

This year I got on the organizing committee and said, “You have to book my friend Amanda Martinez.” She is gorgeous and she’s a fantastic singer and I love the whole Latin thing she has going. It really is beautifully romantic at the Moonlight Gala, a night under the stars. She embodies that whole thing. She dresses the part; she has flowers in her hair … someone who manages to look like that with twins and a 6-year-old is crazy.

As for the gala, people say it’s far, that you really need to travel. I say that’s all part of it, you feel like you’re on vacation. You get out of the craziness of the city and transport yourself physically, emotionally and culturally to this incredible, incredible place. I know I keep repeating the word magical, but it really is that. No event in Toronto really has that kind of feel.

Let’s talk Toronto. You cut your teeth in this town. How is Toronto as a jazz city?

But at the same time, it’s hard to get people out. I consider New York. I go down to play, and my husband and I always notice that, if we go to NYC for four or five days, we’re in jazz clubs from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. and three different clubs and they’re all beyond packed. Some of them are smaller, some are bigger. It doesn’t matter how much the tickets are or if there’s a drink minimum. People are goers.

In Toronto there’s less of that culture. There’s parking, there’s a drink minimum. People say, “Maybe I’ll check it out on YouTube.” It’s especially hard in the winter.

That must be tough for musicians.

You can’t really sell anything with streaming. People need to understand that for their favourite artists [to exist], they have to come out and actually support them. Don’t be shy. Go hear live music. It’s not that Toronto doesn’t have as many jazz clubs as other international cites. A lot of the time they’re empty. Toronto has as good a social scene as anywhere else in the scene. It has a huge and very intelligent population. People just need to be more active in supporting music. 

What’s next for Sophie Milman?

I’m potentially getting involved with a couple interesting ethnic projects that I shouldn’t be talking about in detail yet. But if I can give you a teaser … I come from a stronger Russian Jewish tradition and my heart and soul are a little bit culturally in Eastern Europe. I’m still in family-building mode, but I’m very much a singer still.

For more information on the Moonlight Gala, click here!

Will you be attending the Moonlight Gala this year? Let Vv Magazine know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.