VOCALIST Juliet Kelly made a return visit to the region to play two gigs in a day.

A sellout lunchtime concert at Durham's Gala Theatre featured a selection of Kelly's original compositions from her album Spellbound Stories alongside songs associated with the 'Divas of Jazz'. London based Kelly then made her way to Newcastle to do it all again in an early evening concert at Gosforth Civic Theatre.

Jazz musicians have the ability to meet up, agree a set list and without rehearsal perform as if they had been working together for years. Paul Edis provided piano accompaniment at Durham and Newcastle prompting Kelly to ask the audience if it knew how lucky it was to have such an accomplished musician living and working in the region.

Kelly's rich, lower register delivery suited much of the 'diva' material including Nina Simone (I Put a Spell on You), Sarah Vaughn ('S Wonderful), Frank Sinatra (April in Paris) - Kelly considered Ol' Blue Eyes a diva! - and Ella Fitzgerald (Every Time We Say Goodbye).

Kelly travelled from London hoping to sell some CDs. Her performances ensured she went home without them as all copies were snapped up by her newly acquired fans.

Russell Corbett