With a sweep of her musical wand, Judy Collins took her Café Carlyle audience on a walk down memory lane, harking back to the era when her folk songs and protest music, and those of her artistic contemporaries – Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and the others – were the signature music of their times.  Most of the audience fondly remembered those years, though it was a long way from the coffee houses of Greenwich Village or even the folk concerts at Carnegie Hall to the chic supper club in which they now sat.  And a very changed venue for Collins, who nonetheless seemed very comfortable with the juxtaposition of her guitar and her sophisticated, glamorous white satin outfit.  Collins was warmly received as she opened An Evening with Judy Collins  with an a cappella “How Can I Keep from Singing?”  The question seemed to be shared by many in the room, for with Collins’ encouragement, several of the songs became sing-a-longs, as the reminiscences became irresistible. Collins and her accompanist, Russell Walden, seemed to be enjoying the occasion as much as anyone in the audience.   She followed the musical question with Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning,” which some would remember that Collins sung at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993, and which they’ve credited with the inspiration for the name of their daughter.

Listening to Collins, it was hard to conceive that her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, appeared almost a half-century ago.  Her voice remains as clear as crystal even when visiting the higher registers as effortlessly as any Julliard graduate a third her age.  Collins’ rendition of “Send in the Clowns,” (her version took the 1975 Grammys’ “Song of the Year” prize) evoked an almost endless ovation from her audience.  “Good Morning, America – The City of New Orleans” was equally cherished, and one that once again brought the audience to join Collins in its lyric.

Café Carlyle is one of cabaret’s and New York’s top-echelon showplaces, a reputation well-supported by An Evening with Judy Collins.  Happily, there’s the opportunity to catch Judy and her show any Tuesday through Saturday until March 1st.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
January 25, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org