Dame Cleo Laine has died at age 97. Her death was announced by The Stables, the music venue that she and her husband, Sir John Dankworth, founded. Critic Bob Mondello — a longtime fan — offers an appreciation.

The Stables, a charity and venue Laine founded with her late jazz musician husband John Dankworth, said Friday (July 25) it was “greatly saddened” by the news that “one of its founders and Life President, Dame Cleo Laine has passed away.”

A Briton with a smoky voice, she recorded albums across six decades, toured the world and acted in “Edwin Drood.”