Jazz musicians have long relied on Broadway show tunes for their repertoire. "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof is NOT one of the tunes that comes to mind, though. And yet, when Sophie Milman sings it, it swings. The World's Marco Werman has today's Global Hit.

“I wanted to do a Jewish song. I wanted to do something reflective of where I come from.”

That's Sophie Milman. Where she comes from is Russia, where Fiddler on the Roof was set. At the age of seven, with the Soviet Union crumbling, Milman and her family were able to leave, for Israel. When she was fifteen, they moved again to Toronto.

For Milman, now at the age of 24, Matchmaker Matchmaker got real.

“My boyfriend and I had been set up by a sort of quasi matchmaker in the form of a Jewish piano player in Toronto. So he set us up, and I was quite happy about that, and I wanted to do the song.”

When you look at this newcomer to the jazz scene, it's hard to believe she needs a matchmaker.

“I don't really focus on the look so much. I knew I was not bad to look at, and with enough makeup and a black dress and curling iron, you can do a lot of great things.”

It also helps to have a strong voice.

Sophie credits her father who fled the former Soviet Union with a cherished record collection, for her introduction to jazz when she was a girl.

“And my dad said, OK, you're seven, it's about time. And he started putting on these jazz records. My first non-Russian record was Mahalia Jackson. You know, I got a pretty extensive musical education at home.”

Sophie Milman says music became the main antidote for what proved to be a tough move to Israel.

“It was very hard. I was a chronically shy kid in a country that really appreciates loud and outspoken children. That wasn't me at all. So I felt like an outsider a lot of the time. And by the end it just got really good. And then we moved again. By that point, I was somewhat of a aggressive, outgoing Israeli, but then we moved to Canada where that's not really what they're looking for. So at all times, I found my identity being challenged.”

Which brings us to Kermit the Frog...And this tune, It's Not Easy Being Green.

“There are many layers to the song. There's the sort of funny layer of the fact that I'm singing popularized by a green puppet, and there's the fact that it's commentary a little bit on society and kids in general, and identity.”

Milman says that when she sings "It's Not Easy Being Green" at her shows, the audience usually starts by chuckling.

By the end, the house is usually still, with several not-very-dry eyes. Sophie Milman's CD "Make Someone Happy" comes out today.

For The World, I'm Marco Werman.