SEEING her in action it's almost impossible to believe that Elkie Brookes has been a professional singer for nearly 50 years.

Yet the evidence is clear. She started when she was 15 and she's now 63. From pop singer in the early sixties to powerful balladeer a decade and a half later, she established her credentials with style.

Somewhere along the way she served time as a strutting rock chick sharing lead vocal duties with the late Robert Palmer in Vinegar Joe. Then there was the blues, the soul and the funk.

Her career may have seen many twists and turns but Elkie clearly doesn't have any dark musical secrets in her past that she'd rather forget about. Ask her what sort of material she favours and she simply replies "Good songs."

Indeed she says that when she headlines at The Bournemouth Jazz Festival later this month her set will include a mixture of musical styles.

"It will include a lot of my hits, a lot of blues, some power ballads, some rocking stuff... something for everybody. That's the way I do it."

It should sit neatly under the jazz umbrella. Elkie has a solid background that includes cutting her teeth with dance bands back in the days when she was a young girl called Elaine Bookbinder from Manchester.

She also worked extensively with the late Humphrey Lyttelton. The Jazz Festival which runs at Bournemouth Pier from Friday September 26 to Sunday September 28 features everyone from Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk to Georgie Fame.

Elkie's performance on Saturday September 27 may show scant regard for being pigeon-holed but it is likely to be a blinder. Her live shows regularly have praise heaped upon them.

"I've had great reviews this year, the best I've had for many, many years," she tells me. When I ask why, she says: "Probably because I'm getting better, I've been practicing more. I'm a great believer that if you don't use it you lose it."

She thinks for a moment before adding with a laugh: "Anyhow I've been in the business for long enough so hopefully I know what I'm doing now... at last."

  • Elkie Brooks plays the Bournemouth Jazz Festival at the Pier Theatre on Saturday September 27.