BWW CD Review: Luba Mason Reaches New Heights In Musical Artistry With TRIANGLE

It starts. Just like that. There is no warning, there are no bars of music introducing the cd before the voice enters the room. There are five fast notes and Luba Mason's voice, and you are in it. Don't get left behind because this musical piece of theater won't wait for you - it's sophisticated, daring, and intent on staying on target without pandering or explaining itself, much like the woman leading the way - correction, the artist leading the way. Because Luba Mason is an artist, make no mistake about it; no mere singer is this, a vocalist with impressive training and impeccable musical instincts - this is an actor, a painter, a writer, a dancer, a storyteller, who uses all the parts of herself in the telling of this tale. It's one of the most exciting albums to come along in some time, and, boy, is it worth the time you will take to sit down and listen to it; take my advice and don't turn it on as background music as you do your chores because you will get nothing done. Sit and allow Luba to take you on a trip most enjoyable, intellectual, and memorable - and if you aren't into being still, it's perfect for your headphones and a stroll through Central Park, or whatever park is your favorite in the city that you call home.

TRIANGLE might have a deeper meaning in Mason's mission for the album, but on the most obvious front, it refers to the artists who make up the CD, for there are only three of them. There is no need for Luba Mason to sing alongside an orchestra (though there is no doubt that it would be beautiful) and Luba would do very nicely, thank you, with only a piano or just a guitar ... but that's not the Luba Mason brand. The woman who trademarked the name of her third album MIXTURA to represent a sound combined of a multitude of musical genres couldn't go backward with her fourth album. Luba Mason is here to break barriers in the arts, to push envelopes, and to create something unique, which is exactly what she has accomplished with TRIANGLE. By inviting Joe Locke and his vibraphone and James Genus with his bass to be her instrumental counterparts, Ms. Mason is making music on this album that is as individual and enthralling as one could hope to find on an easy listening CD, a jazz record, or a pop album, all monikers that do not appropriately describe what is being presented here, though there are clear dustings of those genres, and more, throughout. The sound is fresh, it's sexy, it's innovative, it's even a little shocking at times... and it's accessible. It is the accessibility that puts it over the top for quality, because even when an artist wants to try something different, that something different has to be something to which the audience can relate. Thanks to Mason's inestimable talents as an actor, every thought, every emotion, every moment created in the text and notes provided by the authors of the songs comes through the speakers, awash with the glow of Mixtura originality. This is what artists hope for, dream of, and look to create - something that is their own. Luba Mason did it.

With ten songs and forty five minutes on display, Ms. Mason clearly had her focus on making the most of her song selection. Ranging from Paul Simon to Antonio Carlos Jobim, from Frank Loesser to Thelonious Monk, the listener is lavished with music they already know but which they might just be hearing for the very first time. There is something so familiar about the song, yet something so new that you might feel just like the very first people ever to watch Martha Graham dance. Isn't this that song by The Beatles? Or was it The Carpenters? It could be, but in this moment, it's just this cerebral, sentient tune on the new Luba Mason CD. Together, the trio of musicians (and guest percussionist on 3 cuts, Samuel Torres) offers music that goes beyond "the latest release" and nabs "the newest thing", scoring especially high marks with the Monk classic "In Walked Bud" and the haunting "Haled's Song About Love" from the David Yazbek musical The Band's Visit. It's hard to single out any one track on the CD as superior to the others, especially when every song on the live recording brings something individual to the journey, cohesive even in its wildly eclectic nature, a journey that features impeccable performances in a variety of languages - but this writer cannot deny having a particular favorite. The blistering and dramatic "Toxicity" is a tour-de-force, a climactic moment in the recording that must be experienced in all its ferocity to be fully understood, and listeners, please be advised - the urge to start the track over immediately must be resisted. Take the whole trip, your first time out, allow the album to finish, because the explosive moment that "Toxicity" ends, Luba Mason delivers two final tracks that act as a kind of tender, romantic, post-coital cigarette, leading into a sassy, sexy, sensual second wind. When the final notes of the final song fade from your ears... then, and only then, can you go back for a repeat listen - but not just any one track. Do the whole CD over, from the beginning to the end - every delicious, different, luscious, luxurious note.

Then have a blissful, peaceful, satiated rest. You'll need it.

Luba Mason TRIANGLE is a 2020 release on the Blue Canoe Records label. It is available on all digital platforms.

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