STACEY Kent is not just another jazz singer.

She boasts six best selling albums, a string of awards, including the 2001 British Jazz Award, 2002 BBC Jazz Award for Best Vocalist and the 2004 Backstage Bistro Award.

Now is your chance to catch her at The Riverfront, on Thursday, June 23, at 8pm.

Her husband Jim Tomlinson creates arrangements, always interpreted so well by Stacey's band with pianist Dave Newton and guitarist Colin Oxley.

What is most telling is the appreciation of the composers, whose songs she interprets.

Three-time Oscar winning songwriter, the late Jay Livingston, called her 'a revelation....there is nobody singing today who can compare with her. She has the style of the greats'.

The twist of fate that took her life in this new direction was a chance meeting in Oxford with saxophonist, Jim Tomlinson.

Like Stacey, Jim embarked on an academic path, but their meeting sparked in each other the desire to pursue their love of music together.

After a year at the Guildhall School of Music, Stacey set about honing her skills on the London jazz scene in the company of, now husband, Jim Tomlinson.

A demo tape, sent simultaneously to Polygram, Candid Records and broadcaster, Humphrey Lyttelton, secured her a role in Ian McKellen's film version of Richard III, a recording contract and national airplay and endorsement from Britain's most respected jazz broadcaster.

Since the release of Stacey's first album, Close Your Eyes, she has achieved, without compromise, both critical and popular success, with her fresh and heartfelt interpretations of the finest love songs of the 20th century.

Her album, The Boy Next Door, a celebration of many of her heroes, was launched in style with a year-long concert tour of 250 appearances, including a show at New York's Carnegie Hall and a month-long sell-out run at the famed Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel.

The Boy Next Door also earned Stacey the 'Silver Disc' in France four months after its release and remained in USA's Billboard Charts for 35 weeks.

Clint Eastwood invited Stacey to sing at his 70th birthday party, Michael Parkinson, invited Stacey to sing on his television show, as did Sir David Frost, who asked her to join him one Sunday morning in January 2003, to sing a song and review the morning papers on Breakfast with Frost.

* Tickets are priced £16 with reductions £14 and CLC £13.50. Side seats cost £10. Call the Box Office on 01633 656757.