Harvey Mason

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Harvey Mason (Singapore, 2004)

Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947 in Atlantic City , New Jersey ) is one of the busiest American jazz and studio musicians ( drums , piano ). As a drummer he has worked in a wide variety of fields, from fusion and mainstream jazz to The Notorious BIG , Carlos Santana , Barbra Streisand , James Brown , Henry Mancini , Sergio Mendes and the London Symphony Orchestra .

Live and act

Mason started playing drums when he was four. In his youth he played at the Wonder Garden Club in his hometown. At Berklee College of Music he studied drums and composition as well as music education at the New England Conservatory . In 1970 he accompanied Erroll Garner , with whom he was also traveling in Europe, after which he performed with George Shearing in 1970/71 ; he then played with Jan Hammer and George Mraz . Then he moved to Los Angeles , where he worked as a studio musician for film and television. In 1973 he was a member of The Headhunters around Herbie Hancock , with whom he wrote "Chameleon". In the mid-1970s, he made recordings for Grover Washington ( Mister Magic , 1974), Quincy Jones , Donald Byrd ( Black Byrd, Stepping Into Tomorrow 1974), Gerry Mulligan , Freddie Hubbard and Lee Ritenour . He also briefly belonged to the Duke Ellington Orchestra . He also led his own groups and presented the album Marching in the Streets under his own name in 1975 , which achieved platinum status. He also performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival with his own bands and toured the United States. He also toured Europe with John McLaughlin (1981).

With Bob James , Nathan East and Lee Ritenour or Larry Carlton he forms the group Fourplay , which released their debut album of the same name in 1991 and then their Smooth Jazz on Between the Sheets (1993), Elixir (1995), Four (1998), Snowbound ( 1999) and Yes, Please (2000).

As a studio musician, he has worked on recordings of musicians as diverse as Gunther Schuller , George Benson ( Breezin ' ), Charlie Shoemake , Bill Watrous , Dave Grusin , John Klemmer , Victor Feldman , Sadao Watanabe , Bobbi Humphrey , Carmen McRae , Chet Baker , Earl Klugh , Hubert Laws , Joe Pass , Ron Carter , Joe Williams , Diane Schuur , Jimmy Smith or the Singers Unlimited .

Prizes and awards

In 2002 Mason received the Smooth Jazz Award for best drummer. The specialist magazine Modern Drummer has awarded him first place in its studio musician category four times .

Discographic notes

  • Marching in the Street (1975)
  • Earth Mover (1976)
  • Funk in a Mason Jar (1977)
  • World Class (1981)
  • Ratamacue (1996)
  • Chameleon (Concord, 2014), et al. a. with Matthew Stevens

Lexigraphic entries

Web links