As the summer cools, the Bucks County Playhouse gets hot. Its ten-concert presentation of a “Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” revives one of America’s great jazz vocalists.

Recreating Fitzgerald’s massive musical library is Freda Payne, a onetime disco chart-topper.

As a middle-school student from Detroit, Payne appeared on a 1950s nationally televised talent show. She then popped up on various radio and television programs.

Her career caught on.

She was part of touring shows anchored by stars Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington. By the 1960s, she was a New York City resident dropping in for television interviews with Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin.

Her most notable recording came about a decade later: the 1970 single, “Band of Gold.”

These New Hope performances by Payne bring back some of the most iconic songs of Ella Fitzgerald, often referred to as “The Queen of Jazz” and “Lady Ella.”

Fitzgerald’s vocal work — including an enviable ability for scat-singing — earned her 13 Grammys. Over the course of her stellar career, she earned honors that included the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald” runs at the Bucks County Playhouse from August 26 to September 5.

Tickets can be purchased online.