It’s been a gap of 14 albums and 17 years since Stacey Kent has grace the LA jazz scene, and the packed house with lines out to Sunset Blvd for both sets on Sunday night proved that she has been missed. The appreciation was in both directions, as Ms. Kent was effervescent in her demeanor, promising to come back soon. The 90 minute set was a musical reward for the faithful attendees.
Kent was hand in glove supported by her team of pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Tom Hubbard, drummer Anthony Pinciotti and husband Jim Tomlinson who did the arranging and played a plethora of woodwinds and percussion. Her vocal delivery was a clever mix of New York sophistication, Left Bank bohemia and Peter Pan enthusiasm, making originals, standards and sambas sparkle and sizzle with style and warmth.
Her cheerful vocal demeanor and clear dynamics was in full form on pieces such as “Summer Me, Winter Me” with Hirahara giving rich and fluid solos along Tomlinson, who took an extra dose of his Getz pills for this solo as well as his bel canto intro that blue in like a warm has on the optimistic “Alfie”. Emotive yet without overstating, passionate with just the right amount of restraint, she was soft and assuring on “If I’m Lucky” while whimsical alongside Tomlinson’s soprano sax as the team cantered through “Bullet Train” and gracefully undulated as she delicately enunciated the lyrics to “Photograph”.
Her strengths were in full exhibit on two contrasting styles. With the sambas, she cooed like a Parisian as she sang alongside Tomlinson’s flute on “Waters of March” in French (tre bon!) and ricochet’d to the percolation of Pinciotti and Hubbard on the assertively upbeat “Upa Neguinho” and breezed through the shifting sands of “The Shadow Waltz”. Her other Ace in the hole was her soft and delicate delving into dreamy melancholia, as she vulnerably floated alongside Hirahara’s deft ivories on “If You Go Away” that was filled with long shadows. Likewise her encore of “Stardust” was an aria of voice and piano, then bass and drums and finally Tomlinson’s tenor tip toeing in to end the evening like a flickering candle.
At the close of the evening, Ms. Kent promised she’d return within a year. If this evening is a portend of things to come, the full house would be wise to start looking on sites for ticket sales now!
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Steve Smith’s Vital Information 03/06-08 and Lisa Fischer w/ Taylor Eigsti 08/18-21