The 2017 Jazz By The Sea festival swings into action this weekend and organisers promise it will be bigger and better than ever.

This week The Guide talks to Poole-based jazz and blues singer Zoe Schwarz and her partner, guitarist Rob Koral ,who will be taking part in Jazz FM’s Blues & Boogie night at Lighthouse, Poole next Thursday, as part of the festival which runs from June 11 to June 17.

SINGER Zoe Schwarz will never forget the first time she heard Billie Holiday when she was in her mid teens.

She was a classically trained musician at the time and a student at a rather strait-laced convent boarding school in Sherborne.

“My uncle gave me a Billie Holiday tape when I was about 15 or 16 and it was my eureka moment!

“I thought, this is what I want to do. It was something completely different, more natural, more instinctive. So I started singing Billie Holiday songs all the time.

“For me it was very clear that this is what I was destined to do. I liked the improvisation side of jazz. You can put your own stamp on it - it’s way more creative than doing something verbatim from the page.”

But despite her dreams of becoming a professional jazz and blues singer, it took many years before she realised her ambition of performing at Ronnie Scott’s world famous club in London.

“Jazz and blues are not mainstream so it’s quite hard to make a living in London so I also temped in the city. I would take clients from where I worked to Ronnie Scott’s and think gosh, I’m on the wrong side of the fence - it ate me alive!”

It wasn’t until 2000 that she moved back to Dorset with her young children to concentrate more on her singing career.

“I was looking for an accomplice and a friend told me about Rob who coincidentally left London at the same time. He said Rob could play anything, in any key. Within a week of meeting Rob we did a gig together and it went from there.”

Rob Koral, who was born and bred in Bournemouth and is an ardent Cherries fan, comes from a self-taught, more bluesy background, but subsequently made his name on the British jazz scene, releasing several well-received albums, appearing on the Old Grey Whistle test and many BBC radio sessions.

The couple started writing songs together and within a few years they were performing at Ronnie Scott’s .

“It was the ambition of my life!” says Zoe.

Today the couple who live together in Poole perform as Zoe Schwarz and Blue Commotion all over the UK and Europe.

Rob adds: “The band is well known now for its unique sound and style, it’s individual - we don’t limit it anyway.”

Zoe agrees: “It’s more drenched in blues - it’s all our original music, all our influences over time, and there’s still a lot of improvisation too which keeps it exciting.”

Their musical partnership has been described as “one of the most engagingly natural partnerships in jazz”.

The pair are both big supporters of live music and events like Jazz By The Sea festival , which was formerly known as the Bournemouth Jazz Festival. This year the festival is being rolled out to new venues across Bournemouth and Poole.

“These kind of events are so important because it makes jazz more accessible,” says Rob.

“People might think blues and boogie is a bit dated but all three acts including Mark Harrison and Dino Baptiste[who will also perform on the night] have their own way of bringing it up to date so it feels exciting and modern.

“It’s going to be such a fun night with three very different acts so there is going to be a lot of musicians creating a real buzz in the room.”

Zoe Schwartz and Blue Commotion play at the Sherling Studio at Lighthouse, Poole at 7.30pm on Thursday, June 15 as part Jazz FM’s Blues & Boogie night.

Tickets £20. To book call 01202 280000 or visit website lighthousepoole.co.uk.