Montreal Jazz Fest’s 2023 Ella Fitzgerald Award winner, Stacey Kent preforms at Place des

Montreal International Jazz Festival presents

Stacey Kent

Stacey Kent is an American jazz singer in the mold of the greats, with a legion of fans and a host of honours and awards including a Grammy nomination, and most recently, the Prix Ella Fitzgerald from Montreal Jazz Festival.

“Stacey Kent…transforms songs into short stories that brim with passion, romance, and wonder.
Lean into her muted declarations and Kent can bring the world to you.”—The New York Times

With Platinum and Gold-selling albums that have reached a series of chart-topping positions, and over half a billion Spotify streams, she has garnered a huge international audience with her delicately nuanced interpretations of standards, chanson, Bossas and originals.

“The voice of jazz singer Stacey Kent has been compared to many things fine and distinctive,
including the taste of vermouth and the compositions of Erik Satie.”—NPR “Weekend Edition”

Her unique multilingual repertoire includes originals written by the Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro in collaboration with her saxophonist/producer/composer/arranger husband, Jim Tomlinson. Their first song, The Ice Hotel won first prize in the jazz category of the International Songwriting Competition. Stacey has also recorded with Brazilian legends Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal and Danilo Caymmi, as well as the celebrated French string quartet the Quatuor Ébène. Kent’s new album, A Time For Love, was released in October 2025. It reprises her trio collaboration with pianist Art Hirahara and Jim Tomlinson, in an eclectic collection of songs. Her previous album, Summer Me, Winter Me immediately shot to the top of the Jazz charts. Summer Me, Winter Me was a collection of fan-chosen tracks which includes three original songs; Postcard Lovers, co-written with Kazuo Ishiguro and two other gems with lyrics by Cliff Goldmacher, who wrote the title track of Stacey’s orchestral album, I Know I Dream. Alongside these are a number of well-loved jazz standards including both English and French versions of Jacque Brel’s, If You Go Away (Ne me quitte pas.)