By Jordan Maldonado, KCCK Programming Intern
“Stacey Kent is a revelation. There is nobody singing today who can compare with her. She has the style of the greats, like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. And she sings the words like Nat Cole – clean, clear and almost conversational with perfect phrasing. And that’s as good as it gets.” (Jay Livingston)
The story of Stacey Kent can surprise you. She was a language student in Europe studying for a degree in comparative literature, but then she found herself in London where she enrolled in a graduate music program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and where she met her future husband and musical collaborator, Jim Tomlinson and later rose to become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed jazz vocalists of the modern era.
A key theme for Stacey Kent’s artistic center is romance. She writes timeless and beautiful rhythms and stories that mend with jazz so beautifully because of the poetic nature of romance.
Stacey Kent performs the festival on the main stage on Sunday, July 2nd at 8 p.m.