Mystery Of Missing Jazz Singer

A record label has hired a private detective to trace the whereabouts of one of its artists, who has gone missing. Jazz artist Madeleine Peyroux, whose's album 'Careless Love' is set to enter the Top 10 this weekend, has disappeared, failing to turn up for any promotional work, according to her label Universal Classics.

Such behaviour is not unknown for the singer; after the release of her debut album 'Dreamland' she spent seven years busking on the streets of Paris. Peyroux, who was born in Georgia in the US and has been compared to Billie Holiday, returned to the music scene, signing to the small independent label Rounder Records, which has since been involved in a licensing deal with Universal Music.

The singer has sold 150,000 copies of 'Careless Love' in the UK. One of her tracks, 'Don't Cry Baby' was used as part of an advertising campaign for the beauty company Simple, while the album has become the best seller in UK Starbucks.

A spokesperson for the Universal label said that Peyroux was "proving impossible to track down" and that label bosses had been trying to contact her for nearly a week without success.

"She has simply disappeared," they added.