Disillusioned with jazz singing, Gill Manly packed up and left the circuit in 1999, writes Catherine Shannon.

During eight years away from the industry she went on a pilgrimage to India, sang to the Dalai Lama, ran a vegetarian kitchen for refugees and set up a community café in Southwark which became a jazz musicians’ haunt. Manly was persuaded to return to the stage however, and will perform at the Richmond and Twickenham Jazz Club on Sunday.

“It’s my debut at the club and I’m really looking forward to it,” she says.

Having immersed herself in Tibetan Buddhism, singing to the Dalai Lama was an exceptional moment for Manly.

“On one occasion we went to meditate with him on a very holy site and I had the opportunity to sing his Long Life Prayer in Tibetan, to the tune of Amazing Grace,” she says.

“He was moved to tears. He came and blessed our Buddhist Centre in Kennington the year after. I put together the first ever Tibetan Mantra Gospel Choir and we sang to him while he planted a tree.”

Although reluctant at first, Manly is enjoying her return to the stage.

“I left partly because of business disagreements, and also a bit of a glass ceiling in some venues,” she says.

“Thankfully a lot of that has changed. The people and personalities running things are different, and I’m more relaxed and having fun.

“I’ve also managed to start getting into Ronnie Scott’s which is another feather in my cap, because for 25 years I couldn’t get in there!”

Manly is approaching the fourth season of a sell-out Nina Simone tribute at Ronnie Scott’s. Her latest album, With a Song in my Heart, is a personal reflection on the work of Ella Fitzgerald.

Gill Manly, Richmond and Twickenham Jazz Club, The Crown Bar & Kitchen, 174 Richmond Road, May 30, 7pm, £8. Call 020 8286 3242 or visit rtjazzclub.com