Popular jazz singer Blossom Dearie has died in her sleep at the the age of 82.

The American singer, songwriter and pianist died of natural causes on Saturday (February 7) at her Manhattan apartment, her manager Donald Schaffer has confirmed.

She was a fixture during her career in cabarets in London and New York, where she moved in the mid-1940s, and has been a featured singer on film soundtracks, including Kissing Jessica Stein, My Life Without Me, The Squid and the Whale and The Adventures of Felix.

Dearie has also recorded with various musicians, including Bob Dorough and Lyle Lovett.

Her first six albums, released with Paris' Verve Records from 1956 to 1960 after moving to the city, are today remembered as cult classics.

The star set up her own record label, Daffodil Records, in 1974 and released her final album on the imprint, Blossom's Planet, in 2000.

(by Scott Colothan)