JAZZ diva Stacey Kent is one of America’s finest singers and has eight bestselling albums and a string of awards to prove it.

Now she is here with a major UK tour, which arrives at the Life Centre on Wimborne Road in Bournemouth tonight.

American-born Stacey first came to Europe as a language student studying French, Italian and German.

A year at the Guildhall School of Music in London opened up the capital’s jazz scene for her. A recording contract soon followed and with it her first album in 1997.

Since then Stacey Kent has been invited to sing at Clint Eastwood’s 70th birthday party and she has appeared on Parkinson and Breakfast with Frost.

She also has a string of awards including the BBC Jazz award for Best Vocalist.

Stacey’s album, Breakfast on the Morning Tram, has gone platinum in France and Germany. She will be performing a mixture of classic standards as well as new songs written by her husband, saxophonist, Jim Tomlinson. Stacey has another album due for release in September, so it’s fair to say she has quite a back catalogue to choose from.

l THEY built an almost obsessive following in the 1980s after a performance on cult TV show The Young Ones. Despite splitting soon after and forming other bands, Nine Below Zero couldn’t stay apart for long and reformed in 1990.

Since then, they’ve recorded new music and toured their blues inspired sound on the road with the likes of Eric Clapton, Ray Davies and Brian May.

Nine Below Zero will play The Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne next Friday and will be joined by one of the leading boogie woogie pianists in the world, Dorset’s very own Ben Waters.