By Beth Naji***“Autumn in New York/why does it seem so inviting?” Susan Mack offered her answer at a packed Chelsea Table & Stage, where her show, ’Tis Autumn, unfolded like the season itself: a rich palette of golden melodies, smoky jazz and spirited swing. With her strong, earthy voice, infused with soulful 
richness and crisp sophistication, Mack captured the many shades of autumn, exploring it not simply as a season, but as a state of mind, filled with memories, emotions and as many stories as there are falling leaves. Under the musical direction of the brilliant pianist-arranger Ted Firth, with bassist David Finck, drummer Eric Halvorson and saxophonist Sam Dillon, the music came alive through Firth’s inventive, beautifully crafted arrangements, each musician bringing a vibrant dimension to the songs.
Mack opened with Vernon Duke’s “Autumn in New York,” an appropriate invitation to embrace the season, including the rarely heard introductory verse, making the familiar song feel fresh and especially personal. She turned up the heat with “Let the Good Times Roll” (Sam Theard, Fleecie Moore), cleverly working the band members’ names into the lyrics, giving each a moment in the spotlight. The next selection, “Colors of the Wind” 
(Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz), discovered while watching Disney films with her children, its beautiful message of embracing the world through a broad lens fit naturally into the show’s larger theme. It was a lovely reminder that a singer’s personal connection to a song can be just as powerful as vocal display.
With a cool, funky intro reminiscent of “Killer Joe,” Mack swung into Burton Lane and Yip Harburg’s “Old Devil Moon,” leaning into its mischievous energy and playful rhythm. Paying tribute to the late, great Sheila Jordan, she shifted into Oscar Brown Jr.’s “Hum Drum Blues,” settling into a hip, swinging groove driven by Finck’s walking bass line. Mack rode the rhythm with relaxed, almost noir-like cool. Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Alfie” offered a striking contrast in its unvarnished honesty, cutting straight to the heart of the song’s central question, bringing the lyric’s deeper meaning into sharp focus. Her rich, textured voice revealed a profound vulnerability, making “Without true love we just exist, Alfie” land with absolute conviction.
The title song, Henry Nemo’s “’Tis Autumn,” brought us back to the season itself, capturing that particular autumnal mix of lightness and longing. Mack understood the song’s charm, giving 
it both character and swing. One of the evening’s most personal musical moments paired Mack’s own “October” (music by Ted Firth, 2025; lyrics by Susan Mack, written as a poem in High Schhool in 1976) with “When October Goes” (Barry Manilow, Johnny Mercer). The backstory of story behind “October” revealed a lovely collaboration that gave new life to a piece of Mack’s younger self; and the pairing of the songs created a poignant connection of different eras, united by the same feeling and notion that while time moves on, music allows us to hold on to the memories along the way.
Mack served up a playful, hearty pairing of “Frim Fram Sauce” (Redd Evans, Joe Ricardel) and a personal “Everybody Eats When They Come to My House” (Cab Calloway, Allie Wrubel) with a clever addition of her own lyrics celebrating the favorite foods she offers entertaining at her own house—as sweet as the little packs of candy corn Mack had left on everyone’s table. The emotional center of the evening arrived with Mack’s original “This Too Shall 
Pass”, inspired by her extraordinary mother (now 97 and watching on the livestream), who used that phrase as a mantra for facing difficult times, and Mack transformed those words into a song of resilience and hope.
“Until You Come Back to Me” (Stevie Wonder, Clarence Paul, Morris Broadnax) brought a smooth R&B groove to the set, with Mack and the band settling comfortably into its soulful rhythm. Mack revealed yet another facet of her musical repertoire with “A Night in Tunisia” (Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Hendricks); Firth and Halvorson set the infectious Afro-Cuban rhythm in motion, while Dillon wailed through a terrific solo. Mack eased into a light swing closer with “That’s All” (Bob Haymes, Alan Brandt), and an encore of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed”—a reflection of the entire room!
Throughout the evening, Mack’s strength lay in making each stylistic shift feel natural, allowing the music, not simply the season, to guide the journey. A highlight was a “surprise” ending—an answer to an earlier “should I? or shouldn’t I?” jacket story—that brought the evening’s theme full circle; Mack, choosing her moment, then produced and donned the jacket in question. Across the back were four simple words: “Music Is the Answer.” From the opening notes to the final encore, Susan Mack reminded us that music has a way of carrying us through life’s changing seasons, as those four words so beautifully declared.
Photos by Hannah Jane
