Twickenham's 'absolutely brilliant' jazz vocalist Emily Saunders, who has been lauded by some of the most famous musicians in the country, is celebrating new backing from Arts Council England.

The UK's 'Queen of jazz fusion', who is preparing for a UK tour with dates and venues to be announced soon, has been a champion of music and culture in the area.

She revealed the good news on Twitter, saying: "Blown away! Just heard…Arts Council England are backing me to write a new work, plus impactful live output

"This rings in my soul like a well-needed home calling. Time to be me like never before!"

Emily is one of the most prolific and fast rising jazz vocalists in the UK who works extensively as vocalist, composer and broadcaster.

Her many fans include Jamie Cullum, who described her as 'Absolutely brilliant' .

She was credited with bringing the London Jazz Festival to Twickenham in 2018 and she has performed many times locally, including at The Exchange.

At the time, she said: "When I moved to Twickenham after music college, I damaged my hand so couldn't play clarinet professionally anymore, initially it broke my heart, but in a wonderful twist of fate it brought me back to my first love of singing and writing music - and I happily never looked back."

Emily has received multiple 4 star reviews including the Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Independent and her music broadcasts nationally on BBC Radio1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & XFM, JazzFM (playlisted).

She has also achieved international iTunes & Amazon chart 'Top 10' in UK, USA, Germany, France and Indonesia.