Sophisticated, elegant, enchanting.

A balmy night under the stars in the Rose Garden at Lamont’s Bishops House was the setting for Catherine Summers’ show and we witnessed a chanteuse right at the top of her game.

Catherine has been a regular at this venue over the past several years and has deservedly built a loyal following many of whom come back every year.

She is known mainly for her jazz singing but Reimagined 2.0 brings her more into the mainstream with her jazz-style versions of well-known pop songs. Catherine is justifiably proud of the reimaginings and the original songs were widely sourced from Britney Spears to the Jam.

I particularly liked her interpretation of Joy Division’s ‘Love will tear us apart’ and Franz Ferdinand’s ‘Take me out’ was another highlight. The songs seemed to work best when the jazz element was lighter and the original tune more recognisable as with the various bossa-nova style versions reminiscent of Nouvelle Vague.

Catherine’s voice is well suited to the material and to the setting and she is ably supported by a top-class five-piece band who are universally excellent – Vaughan Jameson on guitar, Alistair Peel on bass, Dan Harrison on drums, Tristan Wills on keyboards and the ever-smiling Alistair McEvoy on sax.

Catherine is very much the Glamazon with a touch of ‘Essex Girl’ and her down-to-earth patter between songs was delightful. How refreshing to be in the company of someone who so clearly loves what she is doing.

It’s a two and a half hour show, albeit with an interval, so prepare to settle in for the night; you’ll be well looked after by the friendly staff at this lovely venue with fine food and drink options on offer.

Catherine presents a very different sort of fringe show emphasising the fantastic variety of performances on offer at FRINGE WORLD.