Straight no Chaser

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

It's a lousy day in Western Massachusetts. There's snow, sleet, freezing rain. The commute home is going to be a bitch. Winter is not going anywhere, and I've got no vacation until March. What I need is a warm, soft breathe of fresh air. Luckily, I've got just the cure here in the CD player.
Luba Mason may look like a member of the Swedish bikini team, but her sound is pure Brazilian soulfulness. Krazy Love takes her from her well-earned places on Broadway (How to Succeed in Business, The Capeman) and cabaret stages to jazz stardom. The album, which was primarily written by Ms. Mason, is a wonderful collection of songs full of the spirit of classic Brasilia, without stooping to imitation or parody.
Ms Mason is married to salsa legend Ruben Blades, and may have learned a thing or two from him in how to deliver a compact, direct sound. She has assembled a band of veterans to work with her, most notably bassist Jimmy Haslip of the Yellowjackets. Renato Neto plays piano and keyboards, Cassio Duarte is on percussion, Marco Costa on drums and Sandro Albert on guitar. Blades makes a cameo appearance, dueting on "E Comm EsseQue Eu Vou." Well-known flute player Hubert Laws makes a welcome appearance on "My House", lifting the song's sense of memory and whimsy higher with his contribution.
Not all the material is top-notch, but that can often be put aside when she sings.Ms. Mason's voice has been tabbed "celestial" by the Los Angeles Times, and their are moments when I must agree. She turns "Gorgeous Fool" into a flirtatious wonder, and brings spirit to "Lovely", which might have come across as cliched with its "Dreams of the Every Day Housewife" theme.
having released an album of other people's songs in 2004 (Collage), its great to see her stretching her talents with this CD of breezy originals, Is it too much to think that Ms. Mason might fill the void left in the ranks of top Brazilian female singers that occurred when Bebel Gilberto moved into Electronica and left the Bossa Nova behind? We can only hope.