Later, while studying music and teaching at San Francisco State College, she played in groups and solo at various jazz clubs, eventually going on tour with the Frankie Carle band.
In the late 1950s, Collins settled in Los Angeles, working there and also in Reno and Las Vegas, where she became the first woman to conduct one of the resort's show bands.
Collins wrote and arranged extensively, including a program, performed live and on radio, tracing the involvement of women in jazz as composers and lyricists.
[1] Although she performed mostly in solo, duo and trio work, Collins occasionally sat in with big bands, such as that led by Bill Berry.
Centered mainly in Los Angeles, Collins worked farther afield in places such as Mexico City, Paris, New York and Brazil.