Stacey Kent
Encyclopedia
Stacey Kent is a Grammy nominated American jazz
singer.
in Livingston, New Jersey
. Her paternal grandfather was Russian
. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
in New York
, and moved to England
after her graduation. While studying at London
's Guildhall School of Music and Drama
, she met the tenor
saxophonist
Jim Tomlinson, whom she married on August 9, 1991.
In the early 1990s, Kent began her professional career singing regularly at Café Boheme in London
's Soho
. After two or three years, Kent began opening for established jazz acts across the road at the Ronnie Scott's nightclub in London.
Her first CD, Close Your Eyes, was released in 1997. She has released nine CDs , and has been also featured on Tomlinson's albums, most recently The Lyric (2006), which won "Album of the Year" at the 2006 BBC
Jazz Awards and was re-released on Blue Note
in 2011.
Kent's music has been championed by critic and jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton
, and she won the 2001 British Jazz Award and the 2002 BBC Jazz Award for Best Vocalist. She has also presented jazz programmes on BBC Radio 2
and 3
.
At the 2006 BBC Jazz Awards, Tomlinson, upon receiving the award for "Album of the Year" for The Lyric, announced that Kent had signed with Blue Note
records label.
Kent's album, The Boy Next Door achieved Gold album status in France in September, 2006. Breakfast On The Morning Tram
(2007) achieved Platinum album status in France in November, 2007 and Gold album status in Germany in February, 2008 and was nominated for Best Vocal Jazz Album
at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
Kent appeared in Ian McKellen
's 1995 film version of Richard III
, singing a jazz version of Christopher Marlowe
's poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
.
Booker Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro
wrote the liner notes to Kent's 2003 album, In Love Again. Ishiguro has co-written four of the songs on the fall 2007 Blue Note album Breakfast on the Morning Tram. One of the songs written by Ishiguro, "The Ice Hotel," with music composed by Tomlinson won first prize in the International Songwriting Competition
in April 2008.
On 31 March 2009 Kent received the National Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
) - a government decoration - in recognition of her contribution to the arts, from French Culture Minister Christine Albanel
.
Stacey's 2010 album, Raconte-Moi, (Blue Note/EMI) is an all-French album. Raconte-Moi achieved Gold album status in France and Germany.
Her latest album, due for release Oct 24, 2011, Dreamer In Concert, (Blue Note/EMI) is a live album, recorded on May 30-31, 2011 at La Cigale, in Paris. The album includes three previously unrecorded selections; Antônio Carlos Jobim's 'Waters of March
', and two new compositions by her husband, saxophonist and the album's producer, Jim Tomlinson; 'Postcard Lovers', with lyrics once again by the novelist, Kazuo Ishiguro
, (author of "Remains of the Day" and "Never Let Me Go") and 'O Comboio', penned by the Portuguese poet, Antonio Ladeira, which Stacey sings in Portuguese.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer.
Background
Kent attended Newark AcademyNewark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, New Jersey. With both lower and upper schools, this institution comprises grades six through twelve...
in Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
. Her paternal grandfather was Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after her graduation. While studying at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
, she met the tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Jim Tomlinson, whom she married on August 9, 1991.
In the early 1990s, Kent began her professional career singing regularly at Café Boheme in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
. After two or three years, Kent began opening for established jazz acts across the road at the Ronnie Scott's nightclub in London.
Her first CD, Close Your Eyes, was released in 1997. She has released nine CDs , and has been also featured on Tomlinson's albums, most recently The Lyric (2006), which won "Album of the Year" at the 2006 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Jazz Awards and was re-released on Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
in 2011.
Kent's music has been championed by critic and jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
, and she won the 2001 British Jazz Award and the 2002 BBC Jazz Award for Best Vocalist. She has also presented jazz programmes on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
and 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
.
At the 2006 BBC Jazz Awards, Tomlinson, upon receiving the award for "Album of the Year" for The Lyric, announced that Kent had signed with Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
records label.
Kent's album, The Boy Next Door achieved Gold album status in France in September, 2006. Breakfast On The Morning Tram
Breakfast on the Morning Tram
Breakfast on the Morning Tram is an album by Anglo-American jazz singer Stacey Kent.-Track listing:# "The Ice Hotel" # "Landslide" # "Ces Petits Riens"...
(2007) achieved Platinum album status in France in November, 2007 and Gold album status in Germany in February, 2008 and was nominated for Best Vocal Jazz Album
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album has been presented since 1977. Until 2001 this award was titled the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance...
at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
Kent appeared in Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
's 1995 film version of Richard III
Richard III (1995 film)
Richard III is a 1995 drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood and Dominic West....
, singing a jazz version of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" is a poem written by the English poet Christopher Marlowe and published in 1599 . In addition to being one of the most well-known love poems in the English language, it is considered one of the earliest examples of the pastoral style of British poetry in the...
.
Booker Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing...
wrote the liner notes to Kent's 2003 album, In Love Again. Ishiguro has co-written four of the songs on the fall 2007 Blue Note album Breakfast on the Morning Tram. One of the songs written by Ishiguro, "The Ice Hotel," with music composed by Tomlinson won first prize in the International Songwriting Competition
International Songwriting Competition
The International Songwriting Competition is an annual song contest based in Nashville, TN, whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. ISC is designed to nurture the musical talent of...
in April 2008.
On 31 March 2009 Kent received the National Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
) - a government decoration - in recognition of her contribution to the arts, from French Culture Minister Christine Albanel
Christine Albanel
Christine Albanel is a French civil servant. From May 2007 to June 2009 she was France's Minister for Culture and Communication in François Fillon's government.Albanel is agrégé in classical Letters...
.
Stacey's 2010 album, Raconte-Moi, (Blue Note/EMI) is an all-French album. Raconte-Moi achieved Gold album status in France and Germany.
Her latest album, due for release Oct 24, 2011, Dreamer In Concert, (Blue Note/EMI) is a live album, recorded on May 30-31, 2011 at La Cigale, in Paris. The album includes three previously unrecorded selections; Antônio Carlos Jobim's 'Waters of March
Waters of March
"Waters of March" is a Brazilian song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim wrote both the English and Portuguese lyrics. The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with "É..."...
', and two new compositions by her husband, saxophonist and the album's producer, Jim Tomlinson; 'Postcard Lovers', with lyrics once again by the novelist, Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing...
, (author of "Remains of the Day" and "Never Let Me Go") and 'O Comboio', penned by the Portuguese poet, Antonio Ladeira, which Stacey sings in Portuguese.
Discography
- Close Your Eyes (1997)
- The Tender Trap (1998)
- Only Trust Your Heart (1999)
- Let Yourself Go: Celebrating Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
(2000) - Dreamsville (2001)
- Brazilian Sketches (2001)
- In Love Again: The Music of Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
(2002) - The Boy Next DoorThe Boy Next Door (Stacey Kent album)-Musicians:* Stacey Kent - vocals* Jim Tomlinson – saxophones, backing vocals* Colin Oxley - guitar* David Newton – piano, keyboards, backing vocals* Dave Chamberlain – double bass* Matt Home - drums* Curtis Schwartz - backing vocals...
(2003) - "The Christmas Song" (single, 2003)
- SK Collection (2001)
- SK Collection II (2003)
- The Lyric (Jim Tomlinson & Stacey Kent) (2006) Re-release on Blue Note/EMI (2011)
- SK Collection III (2006)
- Breakfast on the Morning TramBreakfast on the Morning TramBreakfast on the Morning Tram is an album by Anglo-American jazz singer Stacey Kent.-Track listing:# "The Ice Hotel" # "Landslide" # "Ces Petits Riens"...
(2007) Blue Note/EMI - Raconte-Moi (2010) Blue Note/EMI
- Dreamer In Concert (2011) Blue Note/EMI
External links
- Official website
- Official website
- Interview Zicline.com Étienne Payen
- Review of Breakfast on the Morning Tram at Gabe's View