By Marilyn Lester***There were so many points in this amazing evening of A Collective Cy that a collective sigh of unanimous appreciation for Jeff Harnar turned the atmosphere of Birdland Jazz Club electric. Passersby might well have noticed a bright glow emerging from within. Harnar and company were so in sync with each other that excellence prevailed without letup. A Collective Cy was the show that we all needed at that very minute in our stressful pandemic time.
From the opening of “Big Spender,” with Marc Phaneuf’s exquisite flute, into a medley of Coleman tunes, it was evident magic was about to happen. One ingredient of this successful show is that Harnar just loves Cy Coleman, the Emmy, Grammy, Tony-winning songwriter whose six-decade career produced some of the most-loved standards of the American Songbook. Harnar’s engaging narrative of fun facts, song setups and reminiscence sprung from the first moment that seven-year-old Jeff became aware of Coleman, when his parents gifted him with the cast album of Sweet Charity. It was love at first listen, even if the budding vocalist had no idea what a taxi dancer is. No wonder Harnar just had to include, from that musical, “If They Could See Me Now” (Dorothy Fields).
A Collective Cy was last performed in 2006. Its revival has been way overdue. Crafted by the long-running creative team of Harnar, director Sara Louise Lazarus and music director Alex Rybeck, the show was superbly backed by “The Rhythm of Life Quartet”— Rybeck on piano, plus bassist Jay Leonhart, drummer Ray Marchica and reed player Phaneuf. Enough can’t be said of Rybeck’s brilliant arrangements. Liberal use of the flute throughout added beautiful touches of instrumentation, as in “You Fascinate Me So” (Carolyn Leigh) and the toe-tapping Latinized “When in Rome” (Carolyn Leigh). A highlight of the evening that had ev
eryone talking post-show was a creative arrangement of “Witchcraft” (Carolyn Leigh). With a slowed down tempo and sensual delivery, Harnar channeled his inner Mabel Mercer to spin out a story of sublime romantic fascination.
Fun moments came with the inherently joyous “A Doodlin’ Song” (Carolyn Leigh) with vocal contributions from Rybeck and Leonhart. In the rarely-heard “The Rhythm of Life” (Dorothy Fields), too cumbersome to present because it requires “props,” Harnar and the band donned sunglasses, with Rybeck and Leonhart again lending vocal color to the tune. The ever-clever Barry Kleinbort, a specialist in adding smart lyrics to any variety of songs, lent his had to that great love song about New York City from the film version of Sweet Charity, “My Personal Property” (Dorothy Fields). Likewise, David Zippel added lyrics to his work with Coleman on City of Angel’s “You’re Nothing Without Me,” for a charming duet with Rybeck.
Ending with a very meaningful “The Best Is Yet to Come” (Carolyn Leigh), Harnar offered an enthusiastic look 
into a brighter (pandemic-free) future for us all—with more live performance to be shared. Like that other genius of American music, Duke Ellington, the remarkably versatile Coleman once stated “all you need to know about me is in my music.” From that adoring seven-year old boy, Jeff Harnar grew to be a star and mainstay of New York cabaret (and beyond)—-and so got to meet his boyhood idol. About him, Coleman should have the last word when he declared upon seeing Harner perform, “the professionalism made me weep.” We couldn’t agree more.
Photos by Kevin Alvey
