At her British debut, American Stacey Kent was a refreshing breath of retro chic.

Some years on, in a crowded field of jazz singers, she reaches a broad audience.

Stacey sings mainly Broadway 1920s to 1940s, but invests the songs with the same freshness that Sinatra brought to similar material. Her clear and unaffected delivery focused the audience into imagining she is singing to each of them alone.

A former student of literature, her respect for the lyrics eschews Diva theatrics, but favours close-microphone, conversational singing. If I Were A Bell and Cockeyed Optimist were delivered barely above a whisper.

On US election day, she sang songs written about the States. Surrey With The Fringe On Top is from Oklahoma. "Nice people there, but I'm a Democrat and I've had a rough day," she said, to loud, conciliatory applause.

Jim Tomlinson, Stacey's husband and band-mate, complements her perfectly on tenor saxophone. His understated arrangements give lots of space to solo voice, bass, and piano. Stacey sang solo on Bonfa's Gentle Rain, before Dave Newton (the best pianist in Britain?) joined her in a gently implied bossa nova.

After the interval, bass player Dave Chamberlain essayed a solo intro, before Stacey came on to sing The Best Is Yet To Come, then into a hushed Polka Dots And Moonbeams.

Her end-of-concert encore is The Boy Next Door, still on the US states theme, but sung audaciously soft and low-key.

Stacey's understatement may be un-American, but it is widely acclaimed. Bravo.

Updated: 08:47 Thursday, November 04, 2004