The Friday song (on a Sunday): ‘The Tender Trap’ by Stacey Kent

We’re immersed in what’s quickly become “jazz week” in my Cape Town hometown and the nearby winelands. Two friends, Josh Georgiou and Athos Euripidou, started the Jazz in the City programme, which exploded all over town with different themes, acts and a varied venue experience of bars, outdoors and lounges. The Cape Town International Jazz Festival has been going for years and looks to have a reasonable chunk of jazz on the weekend bill.

In the winelands, we’ll see how the first Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek will play out. Will it be more about the music or the networking? Who is the intended audience and who will attend? Will it be back next year? I’ve booked to see the fabulous singer Stacey Kent, to whom I’ve been listening in preparation for her gig – and have picked her for this weekend’s song.

Stacey Kent’s French flair

I used to think Kent was French Canadian until I learnt that her command of French was to enable her to speak to her grandfather and that she’s a “Jersey Girl” and was a student of languages. She’s married to British tenor player / composer / producer / arranger Jim Tomlinson and their collaborations have been a source of joy in my jazz listening.

Her phrasing and delicate vocal on her French-language album Raconte-Moi remains a treat, and the track La Vénus du Mélo, was almost my choice. Then I switched to the duets with her longtime pianist Art Hirahara on Paul Simon’s American Tune, then McCartney’s Blackbird and from there to the live English version of the classic bossa nova Corcovado, with Tomlinson’s and Graham Harvey’s perfectly honed solos. At that point I realised that I was simply trying to auto-suggest a set list that I’d like to hear from Kent live!

Make mine tender

Which brought me to today’s choice, selected from one of Kent’s early albums, Love Is… The Tender Trap. Its spontaneity is charming. I thought first about choosing Don’t Be That Way, which felt like a good “young Stacey” statement, but rather – for familiarity and her interpretation, which is mature beyond her experience at the time – chose The Tender Trap.

The song was written for the film of the same name starring Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds, and became a huge, big-band hit for Sinatra. Kent’s take is different. It’s configured for a trio with voice, rather than a Sinatra-type arrangement. Rolling drums bring the hard swing right in, with bass man David Green sustaining long notes, then prodding and walking, and David Newton’s piano accompaniment and solo are adventurous and assertive in a straight-ahead way, if a touch too long. It brings Kent back into the close. It’s a fresh and vital track, with Kent’s pitching and phrasing perfect throughout – elongating some vowels, clipping others, picking gaps and finding space. It’s a terrific version.

Listen to Stacey Kent sing The Tender Trap on Spotify here and Apple Music here.

I started a music WhatsApp group in 2023. I send one song a week on a Friday, with links to both Apple and Spotify, and an accompanying narrative/capsule piece. If you want to engage about a song, get a playlist or just get in touch, email me on markgrosin@gmail.com.

For more of Mark’s great track selections, go here.

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