CD Reviews : "Krazy Love" Luba Mason

  One of the purest voices on the contemporary jazz scene, Luba Mason is as at home singing her own work as she is doing covers.

    Expanding her theatrical and Broadway palette on the new lounge-jazz/Brazilian-tinged "Krazy Love,"Mason makes the switch from working with prerecorded material to throwing herself into the coproducer s chair and penning eight out of 10 tracks.

    The follow-up to her 2004 splash debut, "Collage"- a collection of velvety reworked classics by Van Morrison, Neil Diamond and George Harrison - shows her new colors.

    Seductive, subtle and sweet original tracks cast a breezy, dreamy spell on the listener. The Slovakian descendant, who hails from New York, melodiously sweeps through each of her songs with warmth and ease, exhibiting a sensual, laid-back vocal approach.

    Stacked up against a stellar group of backing musicians, Mason explores new sounds. From the eloquent title track, "Krazy Love,"that is enriched by soft sounds of the cuica (Brazilian drum typically used in samba songs) to the gentle sway of "From Me to You,"a passionate song about infidelity, Mason's dedication to expressing her creativity has paid off.

    She tops it off by bringing into the mix two intoxicating tunes sung in Portuguese: "Olhos No Olhos"(Eye to Eye) and "E Com Esse Que Eu Vou"(And It Is With You I Go), the latter a Brazilian melody that pairs Mason and her husband, Latin superstar musician Ruben Blades.

    Enhanced by Brazilian pianist Renato Neto, a renowned instrumentalist who's accompanied Prince in the past, and by bassist Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets), percussionist Cassio Duarte, guitarist Sandro Albert and drummer Marco Costa, Mason's album release retains a cool, Brazilian atmosphere from start to finish.