Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Stacey Kent: The Boy Next Door

309

Stacey Kent: The Boy Next Door

By

Sign in to view read count
Stacey Kent: The Boy Next Door
Stacey Kent is in love with words. She's pretty fond of melody, too. But her heart belongs to a good lyric, and when the words are right, her swinging jazz quartet is there to reimagine the tune, if necessary. On The Boy Next Door, Kent pays tribute to her heroes, most of whom made their mark singing the Great American Songbook, popular standards written by the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwins, along with a few contemporary additions.

If Kent's voice is girlish, her persona is that of a woman who may sound young, but has been around for a few years. She holds the microphone closely and caresses each word, wringing poignancy and knowingness from each syllable, landing crisply on consonants. On the recording of Berlin's "Say It Isn't So," she implores her lover to come clean, directly and painfully.

In live performance at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in September (the first Friday of a month-long run), she carefully delivered each plea for the truth with conversational matter-of-factness. Jim Tomlinson's sax offered reassurance in warm, breathy, Ben Webster-esque lines. She may not have believed him, but she looked as if she wanted to.

Part two of this story might be found in "What the World Needs Now," a late addition to the songbook by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which Kent rescues from American Idol-schlock with good taste and understated piano accompaniment. Live, Kent's vulnerability in this song was as clear as her enunciation.

All is not melancholy, however. Kent is arguably more comfortable with songs that give wisdom the advantage over the wants of her heart. "Makin' Whoopee," inspired by the Ray Charles/Betty Carter duet, is a clever, cautionary tale for couples whose love nests might tatter as the years go by. "Too Darn Hot," spurred by Colin Oxley's percolating guitar, is sung from the point of view of someone who has experienced first-hand how the level of heat outdoors can influence the heat generated indoors. And Dizzy Gillespie's jive "Ooh-Shoo-Be-Doo-Bee" is an infectious course on how to say "I love you" at least two different ways. In the Oak Room, it was playfully sexy.

The record concludes with "Bookends," by Paul Simon, who recommends we "preserve our memories." Stacey Kent remembers the days when nuance, wit, and humor were in style, and with like-minded musicians, careful song choice, impeccable time, and unaffected phrasing, she'll help bring them back.

Track Listing

1. The Best Is Yet to Come (Coleman/Leigh) - 3:28 2. The Boy Next Door (Blane/Martin) - 3:43 3. The Trolley Song (Blaine/Martin) - 4:06 4. Say It Isn't So (Berlin) - 4:43 5. Too Darn Hot (Porter) - 3:28 6. Makin' Whoopee (Donaldson) - 3:11 7. What the World Needs Now Is Love (Bacharach/David) - 4:12 8. You've Got a Friend (King) - 4:21 9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (Ellington/Webster) - 4:59 10. Ooh-Shoo-Be-Doo-Bee (Carroll/Graham) - 3:07 11. People Will Say We're in Love (Hammerstein/Rodgers) - 3:48 12. 'Tis Autumn (Nemo) - 4:32 13. All I Do Is Dream of You (Brown/Freed) - 3:28 14. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Carmichael. Hoagy) - 3:28 15. You're the Top (Porter) - 2:31 16. Bookends (Simon) - 1:16

Personnel

Stacey Kent
vocals

Stacey Kent - Vocals; Dave Chamberlain - Double Bass; Curtis Schwartz - Vocals; David Newton - Piano, Keyboards, Vocals; Colin Oxley - Guitar; Jim Tomlinson - Saxophone, Vocals; Matt Home - Drums.

Album information

Title: The Boy Next Door | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Candid Records

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.