British singer-songwriter Helen Welch has lived in Northeast Ohio for the past several years. During that time, she’s slowly built a loyal following of jazz enthusiasts.

During her time here in Northeast Ohio, she has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Akron Symphony.

She’s just announced that she’ll issue a Christmas album, Home for Christmas, this month. She will celebrate the album’s release with a show at the Akron Civic Theatre on Nov. 20.

The quartet that plays on the album — Joe Leaman (piano), Bryan Thomas (bass), Anthony Taddeo (drums), and Adam Keeler (guitar) — will accompany her for the performance.

Ohio-based singer-songwriter David Morgan worked with Welch to compose the title track and Welch credits guitarist Adam Keeler with encouraging her to pair “The Christmas Song” with Bach’s cello prelude.

This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2016.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.