The Salon Wrap-Up for April 7, 2019: "Mixed Bag – A Salon Potpourri"

Mark introduced our Co-Host for the evening, the 2019 Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Vocalist who was recently seen in the North American premiere of "Girl from the North Country" (earning her a 2019 Lortel nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress) and Broadway veteran Luba Mason. She is working on her 4th CD, entitled Triangle, which will be released later this year. Luba took to the stage and slid gently into Van Morrison's "Moondance," giving us our first taste of her smooth alto vocals and effervescent onstage personae. She played with this jazzy melody so beautifully, taking the familiar notes, giving Mark an instrumental break for himself to bounce up and down the song with cool joy before having a lot of fun with the ending. She is wearing new sneakers this evening, and didn't hesitate to point it out before going into her Co-Hosting duties. In the midst of a single opening note, Luba burst into an a cappella rendition of "Skylark" by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael, so we really could hear her glorious voice and all the nuances she gives to her work, all by itself. Thru her last note, Mark played into a swirlingly relaxing "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash, and Luba ebbed and flowed with the rhythm in her own beautiful interpretation of the well-known verse. To end her set, she took us to Brazil, South America, from her second album Krazy Love, by singing her original samba composition called "Gorgeous Fool," which was as deceptively hilarious as it was sensuous. For the final number of the evening, she turned up the heat with a sizzling version of "And All That Jazz" by John Kander and Fred Ebb, complete with powerful belting and sultry Fosse/Verdon movements behind the mic stand.

Luba Mason at the 2019 Bistro Awards. Photo: James Gavin

Salon Spotlight

Our Salon Spotlight was Bistro and MAC Hanson Award winner, Lucille Carr-Kaffashan. Lucille is such a great singer, with a rich alto belt and fantastic connection to the lyric. She started out by going right into the swingingly rockin' "All of Me" (by John Legend) with Jeff Cubeta at the piano, who also furnished high tenor harmonies. Tears, sweat and the sea - salt water - is basically the cure for everything, so Lucille sat on a stool and went into the moody "The Downeaster Alexa" by Billy Joel, making the song her very own. Then she performed an adamant lesson song, Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" with some really fun Gospel rap and lyrics, and allowed her powerful vocals and great storytelling to nail the song home.

Lucille's show "When the Light Gets In" will be presented on Saturday, April 27th and Thursday, May 2nd (both at 7pm) at the Brick Room of Don't Tell Mama with Jeff Cubeta at the piano as Music Director/Arranger. It features work by male singer-songwriters, and will have on hand Sean Harkness on guitar, Matt Scharfglass on bass, and David Hilder as Director.

Classical Corner

Taking the concept of "Mixed Bag" almost literally, we had some fun for Classical Corner last night, creating a pop quiz of sorts for Mark. Before the evening started, he wrote a bunch of classical works on cards in a basket, relatively short pieces that he knew how to play off the top of his head. When the time came, Maureen Taylor passed the basket around the room and one by one random titles were announced to Mark, who went on to play them from memory! Mendelssohn's "Scherzo Opus 16 #2" was first, then came nicely contrasting Gershwin's "Prelude No. 2," and then randomly went into Gershwin's "Prelude No. 1" in a coincidental reversal of order. He waited for quiet and then beautifully glowed musically with "Clair De Lune" by Debussy, leaving us all in a good mood for the Intermission break.

Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website or other links, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.

Co-Host: Luba Mason 
Bobbie Horowitz
Deborah Stone
Marnie Klar
Bob Simonello
Delaine Douglas
Barb Malley
Bennett Silverstein
Dr. Sue Horowitz (self at piano)
Sierra Rein
Maureen Taylor
Salon Spotlight Lucille Carr-Kaffashan (Jeff Cubeta on piano)
Classical Corner
BREAK
Co-Host: Luba Mason 
Tanya Moberly
Frances O'Flynn (Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (self at piano)
Richard Eisenberg
David Ballard
Joshua Bennett
Phillip Kuan
Co-Host: Luba Mason 

Special thanks to our pianist for the evening, Mark Janas, and also to musician Jeff Cubeta. Thanks also to David Ballard on lights and sound, and the astounding waitstaff (Joshua and Leo), and management at Don't Tell Mama. Also thanks to our videographer for the evening,  Steve Bustamante.

Ongoing Shows:

Most Tuesdays (6pm): Peaceable Hour with Sarah Rice, Janice Hall, and Mark Watson at St. Clements Church, free, see schedule for details - peaceablehour.com, 423 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesdays-Sundays: Adam Shapiro is performing in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at Stage 42, 422 W 42nd St, NYC.

Upcoming Shows:

Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 (7pm): Frances O'Flynn with Matthew Martin Ward sing Jimmy Kennedy - "The Man Who Wrote the Teddy Bear's Picnic" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Friday, April 12, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Stephanie Trudeau in "Chavela: Thing of Me; Songs & Stories of Chavela Vargas" with David Lahm on piano and Diego Cebollero on guitar, Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, April 14th, 2019 (7pm): Frances O'Flynn with Matthew Martin Ward sing Jimmy Kennedy - "The Man Who Wrote the Teddy Bear's Picnic" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Monday, April 15th, 2019 (7pm): Delaine Douglas and others will be competing in the "Tomatoes Got Talent" Contest at The Triad, 158 W 72nd St, NYC.

Friday, April 26th, 2019 (7pm): Barb Malley in "OMG! Am I a Diva?" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Saturday, April 27th, 2019 (4:30pm): Barb Malley in "OMG! Am I a Diva?" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, May 16th, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly and Barb Junger direct Susanne Mack in "Where I Belong" with Musical Director Paul Greenwood at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.

Friday, May 17th, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly and Barb Junger direct Susanne Mack in "Where I Belong" with Musical Director Paul Greenwood at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.

Friday, May 17th, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Stephanie Trudeau in "Chavela: Thing of Me; Songs Stories of Chavela Vargas" with David Lahm on piano and Diego Cebollero on guitar, Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Sunday, May 19th, 2019 (6pm): Dr. Sue Horowitz presents a reading of her original musical “SssWitch - A Bewitching Musical” at St. John's Church, 81 Christopher Street, NYC.

Thursday, May 23th, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly and Barb Junger direct Susanne Mack in "Where I Belong" with Musical Director Paul Greenwood at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.

Thursday, May 30th, 2019 (7pm): Tanya Moberly and Barb Junger direct Susanne Mack in "Where I Belong" with Musical Director Paul Greenwood at Pangea, 178 2nd Ave, NYC.

Friday, May 31, 2019 (7pm): Sierra Rein - as part of Marquee Five - performs "8-Track Throwback" with Dan Pardo on piano, Matt Scharfglass on bass, Tony Romano on guitar, and Emma Ford on drums, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W. 42nd Street, NYC.

Thursday, June 20th, 2019 (7pm): Bennett Silverstein will present "Born to Be Bennett" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, June 27th, 2019 (8pm): David Ballard will be part of the 50th Anniversary NYC Gay Men's Chorus performance "Quiet No More: A Choral Celebration of Stonewall" at Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, NYC.

Thursday, July 11th, 2019: Marnie Klar will be performing at Parnell's, 350 E 53rd St, NYC.

Thursday, October 17th, 2019: Bobbie Horowitz presents "It's Just a Number" at Don't Tell Mama, 345 West 46th Street, NYC.

NEXT SALON: April 14th, 2019
The theme for next Sunday will be filled with potential doom, but a lot of music to face: "Death & Taxes – Things You Can’t Escape," and our Co-Host will be teacher and acclaimed Cabaret vocalist, Andrea Axelrod!

Sierra Rein
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