1920s Cotton Club Reimagined | Lamont’s Bishops House | til Feb 15 | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Such is the popularity of Catherine Summers that our own hometown jazz chanteuse filled Lamont’s rose garden at last Tuesday’s opening of her show 1920s Cotton Club REIMAGINED.
A Fringe World veteran with an impressive run of sold-out shows, Summers and her band of local ‘hotties’ have now notched up nine-years, which is no easy feat. A show of hands requested by Summers in her opening monologue proved that there were more newcomers eager to enjoy this 90-minute joy ride back to the 1920s Cotton Club.
The jazz age not only revolutionised music but also fashion, art and culture. Summers’ concept was to incorporate these collective elements, and use the lyric lines of today’s widely-known songs breathing new life into them with a 1920s jazz syncopation. Catherine’s great strength and beauty is not only her voice (which is pitch perfect), but the warm and engaging way her storytelling unfolds as she described each song and why it was chosen.
Taking inspiration from Baz Luhrman’s The Great Gatsby soundtrack, Summers began the opening set with Amy Winehouses’ Rehab, a bold choice that worked on so many levels and set the scene for the multitude of other well-known hits that followed. Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine, The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night (Charleston swing) just two examples. Singing in perfect French, Les Champs Élysées and Lana Del Rey’s Young and Beautiful were both standouts in this set with Summers’ vocals soaring high above the office building landscape that surrounds Lamont’s Bishops House.
After a 25-minute interval, the visuals were enhanced by two young ‘belles’, Ashleigh and Danni, dancing up a storm with Catherine front and centre singing. Don’t know how they managed it as the tiny stage had an array of instruments including a large drum kit, double bass, electric keyboard, sound amplifiers with also her six male band members accompanying them!
Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk, Bassey’s Big Spender and Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World were all wonderfully-polished numbers of the second set, with a singalong finale of Abba’s Thank You For The Music rounding out a night of memorable melodies.
These six amazing gents were all highly-professional in their captivating solos and super brilliant as a cohesive six-piece live band. Jackson Van Ballegooyen (piano), Vaughan Jameson (guitar), Zac Grafton (sax & clarinet), Alistair McEvoy (double bass) and Dan Harrison (drums).
Accolades must also be extended to Lamont’s. The venue, the staff, the food are all five-star. Would happily return again before Catherine and her band finish their final show on February 15.
See Catherine Summers until Thursday 15 February at Fringe World. For tickets and more information, head to fringeworld.com.au
Terry Larder is the founder of Club West (1989-2015) and in this role over those years was the director/producer/compere/drag performer. He is keen to foster goodwill and nurture new and emerging artists both on-stage and off. He has been a writer for OIP since 2007, and has reviewed numerous shows as well as interviewed and written about Debbie Reynolds, Anthony Callea, James Morrison, Elaine Paige to name but a few. Terry also writes history articles for OIP and university publications.
You can support our work by subscribing to our Patreon
or contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.
