In a cream, silk pants suit, her wild white hair piled high on her head, Judy Collins looked as chic as her sophisticated audience as she strummed the guitar and led the New York  "hippies" in "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"  It was a surreal moment at the Café Carlyle.

Most singers adjust their vocal ranges with the years, but Collins continues to deliver her trademark clear, direct tones that soar far high into the sky.  She projects an inner security, a casual ease and a wry sense of humor.  This is her third appearance this year at the Carlyle, recollecting an earlier time that does not seem very long ago, but let's face it, it is almost a half-century now.  The memories, however, are strong and Collins is effective in communicating the songs by writers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Leonard Cohen with such clarity.  Listen to her with your eyes closed and time has not passed since the innocent nostalgia of "Chelsea Morning." (Joni Mitchell).

An Evening with Judy Collins has come to mean a down-to-earthiness recognition of time and the inevitability of change.  As much as she salutes the struggle to get a foothold in the music field, she also celebrates the duality of tradition and progression with John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" framing "Take Me Home, Country Road," (with the telling line, "to the place I belong").   The sentiment of belonging is heightened with this pairing, and when Collins realized the audience was with her, she invited them to sing along.  If it wasn't a rousing revisit to the Cafe Bizarre in 1960s Greenwich Village, there was a musical murmur acknowledging her sentiment.

Incredibly touching was her a cappella rendition of "Danny Boy," a song that never fails to demand attention.  Along with "My Funny Valentine" (Rodgers and Hart), "Danny Boy" was a heartfelt salute to her father.

Judy Collins was accompanied by Musical Director/pianist, Russell Walden.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
September 30, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org