JAZZWISE MAGAZINE- Peter Quinn
Sony/OKeh Records. 4-star review ****
This intimate 12-track collection is Stacey Kent’s first standards album since her 2003 recording, “The Boy Next Door.” It sees the US-born, London-based vocalist team up with the legendary Brazilian composer and guitarist, Roberto Menescal, one of the founders of Bossa Nova and winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 Latin Grammy Awards.
Menescal and Kent have teamed up before, on her previous album, “The Changing Lights” (2013) but hearing the fruits of their close musical relationship unfold over the course of an entire album is a real joy. Whether it’s the profound sadness of ‘There Will Never Be Another You’ or the mid-tempo swing of ‘No moon At All’, these spare and sparse arrangements, with only Kent’s husband, Jim Tomlinson on tenor sax and flute, and bassist Jeremy Brown for company, go right to the heart of the song. From the scene-setting ‘Only Trust Your Heart’ to the title track, tempos are, on the whole, extremely slow, allowing the listener to fully appreciate the mellifluous dovetailing of voice and guitar. This is an extremely beautiful meeting of minds.
JAZZWISE spoke to Stacey Kent and Jim Tomlinson about the album:
