He opened the Woodstock festival, and thanks to the movie of that event, his impassioned performance of Freedom has entered rock iconography. His unique voice and songwriting have seen him lauded to this day by counterculture peers and friends from Bob Dylan on down.

He continues to inspire new artists, and his version of Going Back To My Roots is still played by the hippest DJs worldwide. So why did Richie Havens never achieve the success of, say, Joni Mitchell or Neil Young? Perhaps it was his unwavering adherence to the optimism of Woodstock, perhaps the world wasn't ready for a black hippie from Brooklyn; or perhaps he was just too damn "mellow" to chase mega-fame. Whatever, he still has passionate fans of all ages, and they were gathered in hushed anticipation at the Jazz Cafe last night.

When he came onstage, impressively bearded and bekaftaned and accompanied only by a fellow acoustic guitarist, the reaction - while enthusiastic - was reverent. Havens gave a funny introduction - "I'm glad to be here, but then I'm glad to be anywhere!" - before launching into an intense All Along The Watchtower.

Though not as declamatory as Dylan, nor as apocalyptic as Hendrix, Havens's version retained all the power of the song, not least because of the force of his guitar strumming which lies at the heart of his sound. Not just a backing sound like your average folk troubadour, it takes the railroad-chug of country and blues players to a new level of drive and complexity.

Ending with an impossibly rousing Freedom, then an a cappella encore of You Are So Beautiful - which showed a voice up there with Marvin Gaye - Havens left the faithful few hundred in raptures.