Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Vocalist Luba Mason’s Triangle was released Oct. 23.
(Photo: Travis Chantar)Vocalist Luba Mason is as comfortable acting on stage as she is singing in a vocal booth, and equally adept at interpreting Brazilian music as she is reassessing chart-topping Stateside hits.
In a move that almost seems like the inverse of Marilyn Manson covering the Eurythmics, Mason includes a take of “Toxicity” by System of a Down on Triangle, her new album, released Oct. 23. A video for the tune premieres below.
On a program of covers spanning Czech chanson, Colombian pop and a Beatles classic, Mason employs a novel instrumentation for Triangle, her vocals supported only by vibraphonist Joe Locke and bassist James Genus.
“I was looking for a real unexpected tune to challenge this lineup,” Mason said in an email to DownBeat. “This heavy metal song by System of a Down with a jazz chart fit the bill.” DB
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
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