YOU would need a heart of granite not to be touched by Clare Teal’s enchanting voice.

The jazz sensation has become famous not only for her singing, but also for having signed the biggest recording contract by a British jazz singer.

“When I got it (the contract) I remember thinking that not looking like a size eight model and pop princess didn’t matter,” said Teal, the headliner of the Ribble Valley International Jazz Festival.

“They chose me specifically because of my voice and personality. I did chuckle.”

Clare Teal had never sung in front of anyone until she was 21, but she continues to surge ahead on her mission to bring the sound of big band and swing to music lovers everywhere.

“I really do think music chooses you, and I’ve felt that from a very early age,” she said.

“I suppose I was a bit of an anorak. I was really shy.

“I used to play my jazz records in the attic, my grandfather’s old 78s.

“I’d go to the library and dig out books about Ella Fitzgerald, George Gershwin and Joe Loss.

“It fired something inside me, and I’ve never let that go.”

Last summer, she produced and presented her third full scale BBC Prom Concert to a sell out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall.

“The weird thing is, until I was in my late twenties I only listened to jazz,” she said. “I missed out on all the pop music.

“When I got to 30, though, I started listening to everything. Being that bit older and making a career in music enabled me to make my own choices.”

The early part of her career, she says, was a series of tenuous threads: learning to play the electronic organ and clarinet, before beginning a career in advertising, and singing in her spare time with amateur and professional bands.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I would perform at Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall, and have my work recognised in such a lovely way by so many people,” she said.

“I find it a really peaceful experience, though, playing live, sharing that very special communication with an audience.

“Sometimes it is like cracking a code, and then it is really magical.”

Teal won the British jazz singer of the year award in 2017, the third time she had landed the prize, and alongside her concerts, she presents her own show on BBC Radio 2.

Born in the Craven village of Kildwick, between Skipton and Keighley, the Ribble Valley has provided her with some extra special memories.

“My mum would take me to Clitheroe in the summer holidays, and I just fell in love with the beauty of the countryside, places like Whalley and Waddington.

“And although I live in the south of England now I’m still a very proud northerner.”

She adds: “The first time I played the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival I ended up at a really nice garden centre with a group of friends and very nearly got locked in the café because we were talking so much.

“I’ve never lost sight of how fortunate I am to be able to play music for a living, and I’m very humbled to be asked back to Clitheroe.”

Clare Teal Trio, Swing’s The Thing, Grand Theatre, Clitheroe, May 4. Details from 01200 421599 or www.thegrandvenue.co.uk