Tony Bennett has paid tribute to singer Natalie Cole whose death has been reported by a number of news websites. 

Cole, who was 65, the daughter of Nat King Cole who she made posthumous recordings in the 1990s with via new audio technology, died of congestive heart failure according to International Business Times. 

Bennett said via Instagram: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long friendship I had with her, her father Nat, and the family over the years. Natalie was an exceptional jazz singer and it was an honour to have recorded and performed with her on several occasions. She was a lovely and generous person who will be greatly missed.”

Cole appeared on Van Morrison’s Duets album released in 2015, her solo recording career finding Grammy success in 1975 as she debuted, a decade after the death of her father, with the release of Inseparable.

In the US Cole achieved no. 1 album sales in the R&B charts while her best charting album in the UK was Unforgettable... With Love, a tribute to her father and featuring his voice in 1991. Her version of ‘Pink Cadillac’ in the late-1980s was the singer’s highest charting UK single.

There has been a massive outpouring of sympathy and tributes online from both sides of the Atlantic since news broke.