Guest review by Gemma Court

A warm balmy evening, a full-bodied glass of red wine and a plethora of infamous jazz tunes played by talented musicians and held together by the brilliant husky tones and the vivacious character that is Cathrine Ann Summers. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Tuesday 22^nd March marked the debut jazz performance of singer Cathrine Ann Summers at the Ellington Jazz Club in Mt Lawley.

Accompanied by Mike Collinson (saxophone), Tal Cohen (piano), Danny Moss Jnr (bass) and Bronton Ainsworth (drums), Cathrine kicked off her set with a fantastic arrangement of the popular jazz standard “All of Me”.

Throughout the night, Cathrine and the band also put some interesting twists on a fantastic selection of jazz songs ranging from the cruisey sounds of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” to an upbeat medley of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “Exactly Like You” both from the 1930s Broadway show Lew Leslie’s International Revue.

Looking around the room, there were more than just a couple of people tapping their feet to the music or dancing in their seats which only spurred on the already-bubbly Cathrine to sing with even more enthusiasm and gusto, and enjoy dancing around the stage herself.

Cathrine’s sultry voice and exotic change in tone by the band, lifted the mood to a new level while they performed Duke Ellington’s famous Latin jazz song, “Caravan”. Close your eyes during this song and you could have been on an exotic island in South America at a colourful party with the locals on the beach, the smell of a bonfire in the air, and an ice cold cocktail in hand.

The relaxed vibe of the evening resonated even between the songs when Cathrine would talk to the crowd in such a fun, casual and easy-going way that you felt like you were just having an informal chat with her one-on-one.

The mid-song solos from the four band members throughout the evening added another fascinating dimension to the whole performance. Mike Collinson wowed the crowd with the rich, lingering tones of his saxophone that can only be delivered by someone with so much experience and a true understanding of the world of jazz. Tal Cohen on the piano should also get a special mention for his incredible ability to play unusual chords and melodies that worked perfectly with the underlying tune of the song. You could almost see smoke coming off Tal’s fingers they were moving so fast, but still with a control and emotion to compliment the mood of each song. Danny Moss Jnr on the bass and Bronton Ainsworth on drums also added colour and rhythmic support to each song resulting in an outstanding overall performance.

By the time Cathrine’s second set came around, it didn’t matter that it was getting late on a school night. An a capella intro to the song “Feeling Good” really showed off the gorgeous, warm tones in Cathrine’s naturally husky voice. More jazz favourites were played including “The Way You Look Tonight”, “My Funny Valentine” and “The Lady is a Tramp” and the crowd was absolutely captivated by the music and lyrics coming from the amazing talent in arms reach of their seats.

When the night came to an end, the sold-out crowd still wouldn’t leave the venue because they lost themselves in conversations with people around them about how outstanding this group performed throughout the evening.

Given she is only relatively new to the jazz scene in a professional sense, Cathrine’s band-leading and vocal talent could be compared with the confidence and charisma of her professional counterparts.

Her relaxed yet professional performance at the Ellington proves that Cathrine Ann Summers is one of Perth’s most talented new jazz vocalists.

Cathrine is heading back to Sydney for the next few months, but will be returning to Perth mid year. So be sure to catch her next performance – Fremantle Jazz on the 19th June 4pm ’til 7pm.