COLEFORD-born West End leading lady Emma Hatton makes her debut at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival this year.

She describes the event as a ‘dream gig’, offering her the chance to showcase her love of jazz to a wider audience and to demonstrate her versatility as a performer with the added bonus of being in her home county.

Last year saw the release of Emma’s second jazz EP, Thirty Three and a Third, which again went straight to number one in the iTunes Jazz charts and was dedicated to her late grandfather, local businessman and brass band president Bill Hatton.

Drawing inspiration from legends of song, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Eva Cassidy and Carole King among many others, Emma’s origins have left her as comfortable singing jazz as she is blues, soul and country.

She was celebrated for her recent international tours as guest vocalist for the global phenomenon Postmodern Jukebox and amassed a huge fan base in the world of stage after starring as leading lady in shows including Evita and Wicked.

Her reputation as a lead star has led to invitations to appear on This Morning and the Andrew Marr Show, while on radio she has been a guest artist on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 2 Live and the Elaine Paige Show.

Emma can be seen at the Daffodil, Cheltenham on Sunday May 5th at 7.30pm