Stacey's intimate style defies categorisation, the plaudits growing for her savvy interpretation of the Great American Songbook. She has a remarkable repertoire of standards and delivers them with relaxed assurance, sometimes revealing the influence of Mildred Bailey or Ella but sounding like no-one but herself. The music I'm singing definitely applies today. The stories I tell through the songs are timeless and romantic. That's great to hear because it proves that the repertoire might as well have been written today, they sound so fresh, so relevant.
Love never goes out of fashion.
Stacey Kent grew up in New York, a childhood steeped in the music of the giants of the Great American Songbook. The gentleman concerned was Jim Tomlinson, a young philosophy graduate fresh out of Oxford. On a whim Stacey applied for and was accepted onto a one year postgrad course at the Guildhall School of Music, the same course as Jim. Stacey's teachers quickly recognised her talent, a talent that soon had her working at London's Ritz Hotel, singing with the resident big band. The UK and US press loved her, as did Alan Bates, MD of legendary jazz label Candid Records, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.