ScheckOnCulture

In the “better late than never” category, 77-year-old Shirley Jones made her nightclub debut Tuesday night at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency. The Oscar-winning (Elmer Gantry) movie, theater, and TV veteran, beloved for her four year stint in The Partridge Family, sang many of the songs from the movie and Broadway musicals in which she’s appeared.

Jones’s voice has deepened and no longer possesses the lustrous quality it once had, but she’s still capable of hitting the requisite high notes. And the technical deficiencies were made up for by the sheer nostalgia factor of hearing her sing such songs as “Till There Was You” and “Seventy Six Trombones” from The Music Man; “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “Out of My Dreams” and the title tune from Oklahoma!; and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel.

Sadly, the baby boomers in attendance were not treated to any Partridge Family numbers, save for a brief snippet from “Come On, Get Happy.”

Performing in front of a crowd that included John Gotti, Jr. and his sister Victoria (Jones’ husband, Marty Ingels, is producing an upcoming bio-pic about their father, starring John Travolta), the singer was in entertainingly chatty form throughout, regaling the crowed with numerous anecdotes about her life and career. She talked about her first husband, the late Jack Cassidy, and Ingals, about whom she said “after 24 years, I’m still laughing; her unrequited love for actor Richard Widmark; and the time Stephen Sondheim told her that “Send in the Clowns” was “the biggest piece of crap I’ve ever written.”  

Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave. 212-339-4095. www.Feinsteinsatloewsregency.com.

It seems incongruous that Judy Collins has made the Café Carlyle, once home to the suave Bobby Short, her home away from home. But the folk/pop singer brings such a warm, homey atmosphere to the swanky environs that she seems to fit right in.

Currently playing her fifth annual engagement, the 71-year-old singer, still in possession of her magnificently flowing tresses and gorgeous, crystalline voice, delivers a wonderfully satisfying evening of eclectic material ranging from familiar staples like “Send in the Clowns” and “Chelsea Morning” to songs by such contemporaries as Bob Dylan (“Mr. Tambourine Man”), Joan Baez (“Diamonds and Rust”), Leonard Cohen (“Suzanne”) and the Beatles (“Norwegian Wood”). Even though she delivers a generous, nearly two-hour show, such favorites as “Both Sides Now” are missing from the set list.

Accompanying herself on guitar and performing with her longtime musical director Russell Walden on piano and, for the first time, Yoed Nir on cello, the singer crafts an enthralling musical spell. A particular highlight was her rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star,” delivered with haunting sincerity.

She also reveals a wicked sense of humor, tossing off comic asides about such things as the Grammy Awards and her upcoming memoir, which she proposes to call Judy Blue Eyes: Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll and the Music That Changed a Generation.

Surveying the tony room filled with its obviously well-heeled patrons, she cracked, “So much like the Bitter End, only different.”

The opening night crowd was treated to a surprise appearance by a special guest, Irish singer Glen Hansard of the groups The Frames and The Swell Season. Singing both a solo number and a duet with Collins, his admiration for the influential veteran singer was clearly palpable.

Café Carlyle, 35 E. 76^th St. 212-744-1600. www.thecarlyle.com.

Not since James Brown’s Christmas Album has there been a Yuletide-themed collection as funky as this latest release from Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/actor Everett Bradley (Broadway’s Swing). Featuring mostly original songs as well as very loose adaptations of Tchaikovsky, “Frosty the Snowman,” “Little Drummer Boy” and the like, Holidelic is a relentlessly fun and joyful disc that recalls the glory days of George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic.

Bradley and his cohorts will be performing music from the CD at a series of five shows at Joe’s Pub on Dec. 17-20, including a family matinee on Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm that will surely have the kids dancing in the narrow aisles.

For more info on the shows, go to www.joespub.com or call 212-967-7555.