February 16, 2011
The Dreamer Caught in the Spotlight - Stephen Holden (New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY --- Dressed in white, her hair a corona of silver ringlets, Judy Collins suggested a seasonal Glinda the Good Witch ushering out one of the most punishing New York winters in memory on Tuesday evening as she sang “The Blizzard” at the Café Carlyle. One of her great later songs, for which she accompanied herself on piano, “The Blizzard” describes a brokenhearted woman driving alone through a winter storm in the Colorado Rockies and taking shelter with a stranger with whom she has a healing romantic encounter. The next morning she awakens in dazzling sunlight and continues her journey through the mountains, her faith in herself restored.
This allegorical song was one of several ballads in a nearly two-hour show in which Ms. Collins’s unblemished icicle voice evoked the kind of ethereal, far-sighted reflection that is her special artistic territory. Two Sondheim meditations, “I Remember” and “Send In the Clowns;” Tim Buckley’s “Once I Was”; Jacques Brel’s “Marieke”; and “Since You’ve Asked” (the first song Ms. Collins ever wrote) all conjured the image of a lone dreamer standing on a bluff gazing into the horizon.
“Send In the Clowns” is worldly wise and amusedly regretful, and “Marieke” is suffused with an anguished sense of loss. But whatever the emotional tenor of the lyrics, Ms. Collins seemed to look beyond it.
For the concert, the opening night of her fifth season at the Carlyle, Ms. Collins added a new element, a cellist, Yoed Nir, who joined her regular musical director, Russell Walden. Mr. Walden commanded the piano when Ms. Collins was playing the guitar, which was most of the time.
The program included several tributes and one surprise guest, the Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, from the movie “Once.” Ms. Collins remembered George Shearing whom she met decades ago when he appeared on her father’s radio show. There was a medley of songs by John Denver, whose lofty folk-pop music, like Ms. Collins’s, often conveyed a swirling quasi-Wagnerian sense of spirits calling through mountain passes. A rendition of “Diamonds and Rust” affectionately recalled her longtime friend and sometime rival Joan Baez.
There are so many aspects to Ms. Collins’s sensibility thhe classically trained pianist; the militantly liberal folk singer; and the humorous, slightly indiscreet storyteller that you never knoww which will stand out at a particular performance; on Tuesday they were equally balanced.
An autobiographical work-in-progress tentatively titled “Judy Blue Eyes: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and the Music That Changed a Generation,” which she mentioned from the stage, promises to tell us more about how these pieces fit.
Paradise provides a modern take on the times, with brand new renditions of archetypal songs made fresh with Collins’ striking arrangements and intimate, breathtaking vocals. The material here is drawn from great sources such as Jimmy Webb, Tom Paxton, Joan Baez, Tim Buckley, and Stan Jones, to name a few. The duet of Collins and Baez singing “Diamonds and Rust,” Baez’s 1975 hit single, is stunning as you listen to their angelic harmonies revealing sincere feelings on the complexity of love in haunting words and melody. And, with the often-recorded Tom Paxton song “Last Thing on My Mind,” Judy Collins pairs up with Stephen Stills to create a fresh and sweetly melodic track, beautifully weaving their complementary voices together with soft and jangly guitars of a song reminiscing a couple’s breakup. The poignant duet from these two former lovers, singing “I could’ve loved you better…didn’t mean to be unkind, don’t you know that was the last thing on my mind” make for a wonderfully lilting and bittersweet tune.
Renowned for her activism and performing socially relevant material Collins’ Paradise includes the recording “The Weight of the World,” by emerging artist Amy Speace, an anti-war song with powerful and personal lyrics. Singing about a brother unthinkably heading off to fight, Collins’ voice is a plaintive, universal cry of the unspeakable senselessness of losing a loved one to war. We can feel the weight of her world in the intimacy of the song’s lyrics, resonating with “The weight of the world, too heavy to lift /So much was lost, so much was missed/It doesn’t seem fair that any boy or any girl/Should have to carry the weight of the world”.
Paradise also includes Collins' enchanting new rendition of the #1 movie song of all-time “Over the Rainbow,” a song of hope and wonderment. Her recording of this song is also on a CD insert to her new children’s picture book project, also titled “Over the Rainbow.”
At 70 years old, with a career spanning 50 years, recording more than 40 albums, including gold and platinum-selling albums, numerous Top 10 hits, plus Grammy nominations, Judy Collins continues to claim her legendary status as an artist to reckon with, putting out this latest recording with her finger on the pulse of the contemporary listener.
KENNY WHITE
singer/songwriter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2010
Kenny White’s ‘Comfort in the Static’ Follows the Human Condition with Unbridled Detail and Humor
New Album Set For February 16, 2010 (Wildflower Records)
“There are periods when you’re not always willing to look into your heart and take inventory. But, in time, that day does come, and if you can give an honest account of what you find in there, you’ll come out with something true.” ~ Kenny White
Comfort in the Static is the long-awaited newest release from the experiential Wildflower Records singer/songwriter Kenny White. It is a collection of eleven wonderfully crafted songs which leads the listener on an intimate odyssey, the spotlight focused on our commonality as humans. From the first haunting melody of the opening track, “Useless Bay,” which begins as if White were letting us in on a bittersweet secret, to the catchy pop sensibility of the beautifully melodic “Please.” From the Dylan-esque sound of “Who’s Gonna Be the One,” to the plaintive musings of ‘I was fine until love got in the way’ from “Where You Are Tonight,” Comfort in the Static is an arrestingly candid and personal collection of songs.
Early praise for Comfort in the Static…
“I'd have to say that Kenny White has earned a place among my favorite singer-songwriters...and particularly, lyricists. As we say in the trade "he goes deep." A true wordsmith AND musician who reveals a fine sense of humor, as well. Put on your headphones and listen carefully”
~ David Crosby
White’s Comfort in the Static is soulful singer-songwriting at its best; lush piano melodies combined with vulnerable vocals and smart, insightful lyrics make for a seminal recording that observes the boundaries between jazz, blues, rock, pop and folk…and then proceeds to step over them. With such seasoned, interpretive musicians as Duke Levine, Shawn Pelton and Marty Ballou backing him up, as well as the contributions of Big Al Anderson and ubiquitous T-Bone Burnett collaborator, Stephen Barber, White wrote and produced this new album with the listener in mind. Comfort in the Static showcases
