Ms Fitzgerald, 76, had the amputations due to complications from diabetes, celebrity news reports said yesterday.

Fitzgerald has been hospitalised on a number of occasions in recent years due to complications from diabetes.

She underwent heart bypass surgery in 1986 and had further surgery a year later to remove bone particles in her right foot as part of her diabetes treatment.

Fitzgerald, who was born in Virginia, and began her singing career with big bands as a teenager, has recorded more than 250 albums and has won 11 Grammy Awards.

She developed a style of vocal virtuosity that came to be know as scat-singing, in which she would improvise wordlessly with her voice to give the effect of an instrumental soloist.

"Many Bermudians traveled to the United States to see her perform in jazz festivals around the country,'' said Mr. Edmead, who has seen her twice on stage.

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