Stacey Kent

The ZigZag Jazz Festival, Berlin, July 22, 2026

Stacey Kent – vocals
Jim Tomlinson – saxophones, flutes, percussion, backing vocals
Art Hirahara – piano, Rhodes
Tom Hubbard – double bass

As the lights dimmed inside Berlin’s impressive Gasometer, the atmosphere shifted almost imperceptibly. There was no dramatic entrance or theatrical flourish—only the quiet confidence of an artist who has spent decades discovering that intimacy can be more powerful than spectacle. Speaking to the audience in German, a language she studied more than thirty years ago and hopes to return to in the future, Stacey Kent immediately established the warmth and openness that would define the evening.

Joined by her longtime collaborators—her husband Jim Tomlinson, pianist Art Hirahara and bassist Tom Hubbard—Kent presented a journey through the Great American Songbook, French and Brazilian repertoire, and original songs created with lyrics by Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro.

A quiet beginning built on intimacy

The opening standard The Night Has a Thousand Eyes immediately revealed the character of the concert. Rather than relying on vocal display, Kent invited the audience into a quieter space where every lyric mattered. Her soft, precise delivery encouraged listeners to lean closer, making the performance feel almost conversational.

Her band supported that approach with remarkable sensitivity. Tomlinson’s melodic responses, Hirahara’s understated harmonic colours and Hubbard’s deep, resonant pulse never competed with the voice but expanded the stories within each song.

A brief verse of The Shadow of Your Smile, featured on her latest album A Time for Love, unfolded as an intimate duo with Hirahara before Tomlinson answered with a warm, lyrical tenor saxophone solo. The quartet continued with the French classic La Javanaise, where Kent’s ability to inhabit different languages became immediately apparent. The language changed, but the emotional character remained unmistakably hers.

The absence of drums gave the music additional space to breathe, placing the rhythmic responsibility on Hubbard. His strong sense of time and rich double bass sound anchored the quartet throughout the evening, particularly when the group moved into the swinging atmosphere of Under Paris Sky.

Colours of a timeless songbook

Several selections came from A Time for Love. The Brazilian classic Carinhoso honoured one of the most beloved songs in Brazilian music history, while God Only Knows offered a touching tribute to the late Brian Wilson, with Tomlinson joining Kent on vocals.

The album’s title track provided one of the evening’s most lyrical moments. Opening with Tomlinson’s expressive tenor saxophone, delicately accompanied by Hirahara, the song gradually unfolded into Kent’s intimate interpretation. The arrangement allowed every element to breathe, with the musicians creating space rather than filling it.

Burt Bacharach’s Trains and Boats and Planesbrought another subtle shift in colour, as Hirahara switched from acoustic piano to Rhodes. The warmer electric texture expanded the quartet’s sound while maintaining the same understated atmosphere that defined the evening.

Stories between languages and memories

The concert also returned to the songs created through Kent and Tomlinson’s long collaboration with Kazuo Ishiguro. Introducing Breakfast on the Morning Tram as one of her current favourites—while joking that they are all her favourites—Kent once again showed why she is regarded as one of jazz’s finest storytellers.

The song unfolded like a scene from a film, carried by its swinging feel, Kent’s detailed narrative approach and Tomlinson’s elegant soprano saxophone solo. Her phrasing gave every word weight, allowing the lyrics to become more than just text—they became characters and moments.

The gentle waltz I’ve Become a Postcard Lover, from her 2023 album Summer Me, Winter Me, brought another intimate perspective, while the audience-requested The Changing Lights captured the bittersweet quality Kent described herself: a song “full of longing, but never without hope.”

Between these original compositions, Paul McCartney’s Blackbird offered one of the evening’s most delicate moments. Performed as a piano-and-voice duet, Hirahara’s thoughtful arrangement revolved around a sustained pedal ostinato, creating a subtle foundation over which Kent’s voice unfolded naturally. His refined touch blended seamlessly with her phrasing, allowing the song’s quiet beauty to emerge without unnecessary embellishment.

An intimate farewell without spectacle

Kent closed the main set with another Brazilian classic, Antônio Carlos Jobim’s A Felicidade. Sung as a duet with Tomlinson, the piece highlighted the natural connection between their voices and brought the concert to a warm conclusion.

The enthusiastic response quickly brought the quartet back for an encore. Stevie Wonder’s Ascontinued the evening’s intimate spirit while inviting the audience to participate through finger-snapping. Hirahara again switched to Rhodes, introducing a different sonic colour and creating a subtle contrast with the acoustic textures that had dominated much of the performance.

Stacey Kent’s Berlin appearance was not built around vocal fireworks or dramatic gestures. Its power came from restraint, detail, and trust between musicians who have spent years developing a shared language. Moving effortlessly between English, French, and Portuguese, Kent showed that different languages are not obstacles but additional colours in her storytelling palette.

Supported by musicians who understand exactly when to step forward and when to listen, she transformed familiar songs into personal narratives—proving once again that the quietest voice in the room can leave the deepest impression.