Mariah Carey turns jazz singer in surprise bar show

Mariah Carey surprised the crowd at a New York City jazz club on Wednesday (05Sep12) by putting on an impromptu show.

The Fantasy hitmaker was in the Big Apple for her televised NFL Kickoff appearance, during which she sang new track Triumphant to launch the football season.

However, she wasn't ready to hang up her microphone after the performance - she later visited Manhattan's famous Cafe Carlyle and belted out her favourite jazz songs while sharing a bench with the club's pianist.

The singer took to Twitter.com to share a photo of herself with a handful of musicians, including bassist Randy Jackson - Carey's new American Idol colleague.

She tweeted, "During an impromptu visit to the Carlyle, singing jazz standards I've loved since childhood."

Her husband Nick Cannon and longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri were also in the audience.