Biographical Notes
Stacey Kent, Vocals
Stacey Kent is an American jazz singer in the mould of the greats, with a legion of fans, a host of honours and awards including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of two million, platinum, double-gold and gold-selling albums that have reached a series of chart-topping positions, and approaching half a billion Spotify streams. Her worldwide fan base is testimony to her ability to cut to the emotional heart of her songs with delicately nuanced interpretations that transcend borders and defy categorization. Her unique multi-lingual repertoire includes originals written by Jim Tomlinson, her saxophonist / producer / composer / arranger husband in collaboration with the Nobel Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro with whom they have worked since 2006. She has also recorded with Brazilian legends, Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal and Danilo Caymmi, and the celebrated French string quartet, the Quatuor Ébène. Her most recent record Songs from Other Places is a duo album with pianist and long-standing accompanist, Art Hirahara. Exploring the themes of travel and transformation, it won Stacey the prize for “Best Vocal Performance” at 2022 Jazz Music Awards in Atlanta, Georgia.
Throughout 2020-2021, while the Covid-19 pandemic put Stacey’s concert appearances on pause, she remained busy recording from home and staying in touch with her fans through social media. She released several recordings, including Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds and Bill Wither’s Lovely Day, with messages of hope for those troubled times, as well as the EP, Christmas in the Rockies. Songs from Other Places was also produced during this time and its mood of quiet contemplation reflects the circumstances of its making. Stacey’s forthcoming studio album, Summer Me, Winter Me, is planned for release this November.
Jim Tomlinson, Saxophone and Flute
Perhaps best known for his work as the compelling instrumental counter-voice to singer Stacey Kent, Jim Tomlinson is recognised as a distinctive saxophone player in his own right. The release of his debut album as leader, Only Trust Your Heart, was greeted with universal acclaim. His follow up CD, Brazilian Sketches, was named Jazz CD of The Week by the Observer, and his third album as leader, The Lyric, won Album of the Year at the 2006 BBC Jazz Awards.
Since 2007, he has produced and performed on all of Stacey’s albums including the platinum selling, Grammy-nominated Blue Note album, Breakfast on The Morning Tram, for which he wrote four songs with the Nobel Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro. Their song, The Ice Hotel, won first prize in the jazz category of the 2007 International Songwriting Competition. He has also collaborated with French and Portuguese lyricists, composing songs for Stacey.
More recently, Tomlinson produced Stacey’s I Know I Dream (2017), an award-winning orchestral album for which he both composed, performed, arranged and conducted. In 2021 he produced Stacey Kent’s duo project, Songs from Other Places which includes newly composed tunes with Kazuo Ishiguro and which also won Best Vocal Performance at the 2022 Jazz Awards. November 2023 sees the release of his latest production of Stacey Kent’s Summer Me, Winter Me, featuring a mixture of standards and originals composed by Jim Tomlinson and the Grammy winning lyricist, Cliff Goldmacher.
Art Hirahara, Piano
Art Hirahara is a jazz keyboardist and composer based in New York. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he moved to the Big Apple in 2003 to be challenged by its pool of world-class musicians. There, he has honed his craft, performing in a wide range of musical situations ranging from straight ahead standards to time cycle-based progressive jazz and free improvisation. From the traditional to the avant-garde, Art has found a sound of his own that cuts across genres and boundaries.
Art has had the privilege to perform with Stacey Kent, Freddy Cole, Akira Tana, Rufus Reid, Don Braden, Roseanna Vitro, Dave Douglas, Vincent Herring, Victor Lewis, Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, Jim Black, Jenny Scheinman, Greg Cohen, Fred Ho, Sean Nowell, Royal Hartigan and Hafez Modirzadeh. He has performed around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and extensively around the United States. In New York, he has played at the city’s premier venues, including Birdland, Smalls, Jazz at Lincoln Centre, the Jazz Standard and 55 Bar. Besides performing, Art is an educator. He has taught master classes both domestically and abroad. He taught at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory and was a performing member of NY PopsEd, an educational organization focusing on bringing music to elementary and secondary schools.