From the left: Louise Fauteux, Ali Lurie and Rosanne Sweeney

John Bergeron opened the Friday performances simultaneously with Richard McGraw on two stages at the Knitting Factory. John was joined by his three "Angels"- beautiful young ladies with pure voices who evoked the memory of the female singers on Leonard's early albums. These heartfelt and melodic versions of Cohen songs accompanied by John's virtuoso piano were particularly moving.

At one point, John mentioned his late sister who was a big Cohen fan and who would have appreciated this evening and dedicated his version of Master Song to her (his version is still the only existing cover of this song - available on his album In The House of Mystery.

John was a wonderful addition to the New York event. He was able to tell us about living at the Chelsea Hotel where he stayed during his Broadway performance days in the 1970's. His story about meeting Leonard Cohen and the kindnesses Leonard extended to him at a concert in Denver was lovingly shared at the poetry event. His performances graced us, and his full participation in our event makes him one of our number as well.

John's album of Cohen covers, In The House of Mystery is available in two versions-both "plugged" and "unplugged." Both are excellent and to those of us who have had the privilege to meet John and hear his versions, they will always be treasured additions to our Cohen library.

Connect with John’s own website at www.musicaldreams.com (sound samples available).