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Stacey Kent
Raconte-moi…
BLUE NOTE/EMI 5099962682305
★★★½
Stacey Kent’s acute interest in French culture is
not new. She has previously tackled some tunes
by Serge Gainsbourg, a jazz lover whose absence
here would have otherwise been conspicuous.
With Raconte-moi…, the American singer decided
to dedicate a full opus to French chanson,
and her tribute is impressively large in scope.
Kent covers icons Barbara and Henri Salvador,
’70s and ’80s hit-maker Michel Jonasz, new stars
Benjamin Biolay and Keren Ann, and more obscure
up-and-coming songwriters who contribute
new songs to this project. Her set also includes
French versions of Jobim’s “Aguas De Março”
and the Hammerstein/Rodgers standard “It
Might Be As Well Be Spring” originally sung by
Jean Sablon and Georges Moustaki, respectively.
The supporting band led by husband/saxophonist/arranger
Jim Tomlinson is unobtrusive
and tasteful. There is not the slightest attempt at
turning those songs into springboards for jazz
improvisations. In fact, the connection to jazz is
tenuous. Ann has also been on the Blue Note roster—a
coincidence?—for a few years, and Jonasz
is another declared jazz fan.
With such endeavors, it is often difficult to
avoid comparisons. In this case, Kent manages to
make the material her own through a consistent
approach. Her rendition of Jonasz’s “Les Vacances
Au Bord De La Mer” might even suggest
that a re-evaluation of the original should be in
order, and her interpretation of Barbara’s “Mal
De Vivre” is probably the album’s tour-de-force.
The mood is dreamy and melancholy, but
Kent has enough pizzazz to avoid the pitfalls of
what could have been an overly reflective exercise.
Her impeccable French deserves kudos, and
the few imperfections end up adding some not
undesirable vulnerability. —Alain Drouot
raconte-moi...: Les Eaux De Mars; Jardin D’Hiver; Raconte-moi;
L’estang; La Vénus Du Mélo; Au Coin Du Monde; C’est Le Printemps;
Sait-on Jamais?; Les Vacance Au Bord De La Mer; Mi Amor;
Le Mal De Vivre; Désuets. (47:29)
Personnel: Stacey Kent, vocals, whistling; Jim Tomlinson, soprano,
tenor and baritone saxophone, clarinet, sansula; Graham Harvey,
piano, Rhodes; John Parricelli, guitars; Jeremy Brown, bass;
Matt Skelton, drums, percussion.
ordering info: staceykent.com
NOVEMBER 2010 DOWNBEAT 61