Stacey Kent: A Jazz Romantic - 5 Questions - June
New York -- The road of life can sometimes detour in unexpected directions, taking you places you never imagined.
Just ask jazz vocalist Stacey Kent. Ten years ago, Kent was a comparative literature major at Sarah Lawrence College, fully expecting to go on to graduate school and a career in academia.
Today, the 31-year-old is one of the fastest rising jazz stars in Britain, and is building a following in the United States with her new album, "Love Is ... The Tender Trap, " a mixture of standards like the Gershwins' "They All Laughed" and undiscovered gems from the "Great American Songbook."Kent, whose father is an architect and mother is a magazine editor, was constantly exposed to music while growing up. But she never thought of becoming a professional singer.
Fate intervened when, after graduating from college, she took some time off to travel in Europe. While visiting some college friends at Oxford in 1991, she met several musicians who were heading to London to audition for a jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. On a whim, she auditioned, too, and was accepted, despite her lack of formal training. At Guildhall, she met tenor saxophonist Jim Tomlinson -- a philosphy major turned musician who shared her taste in older swing styles. They eventually married and settled in North London, recording and playing together to form a special partnership.Kent was asked to sing with the 30's swing band, Vile Bodies, for Ritz Hotel dinner dances.
She got more exposure when she appeared as the big band vocalist in the opening scene of the 1995 film, "Richard III," which starred Ian Mckellen.Her demo tape made an enthusiastic backer of BBC radio jazz presenter Humphrey Lyttelton. In the liner notes to her debut album, "Close Your Eyes" on Britain's Candid label, Lyttelton wrote that her voice "strong and clear ... has the invigorating tang of Vermouth." The collection of mostly moody, yearning ballads was one of Britain's best-selling jazz albums of 1997.
Her follow-up album, "The Tender Trap," released this year in the United States by the Chiaroscuro label, is more upbeat and swinging. Kent doesn't scat or use vocalese like some other jazz singers, preferring a more straight-ahead approach. She has an engaging, girlish voice, delivering the lyrics in a relaxed, swinging style with crystal-clear diction.Mostly through word of mouth and a profile on CBS Sunday Morning, her CD became a top-seller on the major Internet music sites, despite almost no advertising. Recently, on a trip home to visit her family on Manhatten's Upper West Side, Kent spoke over brunch about the unlikely twists her life has taken.
1. What experience singing did you have before you went to Europe?
Kent: I didn't have any professional experience singing and I never thought about doing it. ... I didn't realize until I became a professional singer just how much I wanted to sing as a child.It was obvious to my family that I had a good ear and could sing. I was always asked to sing at family events. My sister and I always sang together. ... I was interested in old movie musicals -- Fred Astaire movies were my absolute favourites. And afterward, I would try to figure out the songs on the piano.I had years of piano lessons. I was in the chorus in high school and did a couple of school shows. But so did a lot of my friends who are now doctors and lawyers. Music was one of those extracurricular activities, and I was just a little bit better at it. But at the same time, it wasn't like anyone was thinking, 'Oh, she's honing a career towards music.'
2. Do you think it was luck, fate or talent that you ended up a jazz singer?
Kent: I guess it's a bit of all those things. In a way, I think it was meant to be. Even though I tried other things that I thought were important to me, it was always music that was my greatest passion. I also got lucky. If I hadn't met those musicians who were going to audition for Guildhall at that time, I might not have done it. I might have come home after my stint in Europe and got a job doing something else. Then again, if I didn't have the drive, it wouldn't have lasted either.That was a very inspiring thing for me to learn in my 20's, that you can think you're going somewhere and then end up going somewhere else. ... It makes me feel very optimistic about life. It means if you're not happy where you are, you can change direction.
3. Does anything in your background as a comparative literature major relate to what you're doing as a jazz singer?
Kent: Absolutely. I think that the thing that attracted me to comparative literature and languages in the first place is very much related to my love of music. I grew up in a household where my mother always read aloud to us, so storytelling was very important to us growing up. Also, I was a language student because I loved to speak languages.I think in a way, I have come full circle because now I look at my songs very much as telling a story. OK, it's not the size of a Dickens novel, but it's a little story in itself. ... I tell stories and play with my ear as a musician in the same way I did as a language student.
4. How would you describe your singing style and approach?
Kent: It's very straight-ahead and uncomplicated. I just hear it in my head and snap my fingers and away we go. There are a lot of questions. Is it jazz? Is it swing? What is it? I can completely understand that people need to categorize it.I don't know exactly where I belong. I just know that where I am is in the right place. I'm a singer of the "Great American Songbook," a singer of popular song. It's not today's pop but it works as today's pop.The element of swing is very important to me. It's a physical not a cerebral music. It makes people want to tap their toes and sway their shoulders. The feel is very important, but so is delivering and telling the story. I tell the story like we're talking right now. It's very natural.I also think what's crucial for any singer is to sing with the voice you've got. I have a little bit of a girlish thing in my voice. ... I have to sing with exactly what I've got.
5. Why do you think these older songs from the "Great Amercian Songbook" still resonate with audiences today?
Kent: It's a magical repertoire. These songs have all the elements that a singer would want. The melodies are so strong, the harmonies are beautiful and the lyrics are brilliant. I think they are timeless stories. They are love songs and very romantic. There's a real optimism -- not that they're all 'happy ending' stories. ... Even though the language might have changed from 1937 to 1999, it's still universal and timeless enough that I can apply it to my modern life.I don't feel old-fashioned. It's so much fun to watch the audience because it's so infectious. It's a 'feel good' music. ... I'm such a romantic. I feel pretty lucky. It's a tough world and I'm doing what I want to do -- singing great songs and delivering them to people who want to hear them.
Charles Gans