Harvey Mason

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Harvey Mason
Harvey Mason 2004 cropped.jpg
Mason in 2004
Background information
Birth nameHarvey William Mason
Born (1947-02-22) February 22, 1947 (age 78)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres Jazz, smooth jazz, rock, pop, R&B, soul, country, classical, Latin
Occupation(s)Musician, producer, composer
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion
Years active1970–present
Labels Eleni, Atlantic, Concord
Website harveymason.net
Mason performing HarveyMason.jpg
Mason performing

Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) [1] is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters.

Contents

Life and career

Mason was born and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, [1] and attended Atlantic City High School. [2] He began playing drums at the age of four with the support of his father, a drummer in the army band. [3]

He was the original drummer for The Headhunters, the jazz fusion band led by Herbie Hancock. After leaving Headhunters in the early 1970s, Mason co-founded the jazz quartet Fourplay. [4] They are on an indefinite hiatus as of 2017. Mason has played as a sideman with Bill Withers, George Benson, and Lee Ritenour.

Mason, who attended Berklee for a year and a half in the 1960s eventually transferred to New England Conservatory where he studied with Vic Firth. Mason received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony for his achievement and influence in music and enduring contributions to American and international culture. [5]

Equipment

Mason endorses Canopus drums, [6] Murat Diril cymbals, [7] Remo drumheads, DW pedals, and Vic Firth drumsticks. [8] Mason has his own Vic Firth Harvey Mason signature drumstick [8] and Vic Firth Harvey Mason Chameleon signature drumstick. [8]

Discography

As leader

TitleLabelReleased
Marching in the Street Eleni 1976
Earth MoverEleni1977
Funk in a Mason JarEleni1977
Groovin' YouEleni1979
M.V.PEleni1981
Stone Mason Atlantic 1982
RatamacueAtlantic1996
TriosVideoarts Music2003
With All My Heart RCA 2004
Changing PartnersVideoarts Music2006
Chameleon Concord 2014
Changing Partnersevosound2025

With Fourplay

TitleLabelReleased
Fourplay Warner Bros. 1991
Between the Sheets Warner Bros.1993
Elixir Warner Bros.1995
The Best of Fourplay Warner Bros.1997
4 Warner Bros.1998
Snowbound Warner Bros.1999
Yes, Please! Warner Bros.2000
Heartfelt Bluebird 2002
Journey Bluebird2004
X Bluebird2006
Energy Heads Up 2008
Let's Touch the Sky Heads Up2010
Esprit de FourHeads Up2012
SilverHeads Up2015

As sideman

With George Benson

With The Brothers Johnson

With Donald Byrd

With Ron Carter

With Casiopea

With DeBarge

With Will Downing

With Herbie Hancock

With Gene Harris

With Bobbi Humphrey

With Bob James

  • Three (CTI, 1976) – rec. 1975-1976
  • One on One (Tappan Zee, 1979)
  • In Hi-Fi (Audio Fidelity, 2003)
  • Angels of Shanghai (Universal, 2006) – rec. 2004-2005

With Carole King

With Sérgio Mendes

With Minnie Riperton

With Lee Ritenour

With Patrice Rushen

With Moacir Santos

With Diane Schuur

  • Blues for Schuur (GRP, 1997)
  • Midnight (Concord, 2003)

With Stanley Turrentine

With Dionne Warwick

With Grover Washington Jr.

With Bill Withers

With others

Charted singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
Hot R&B
Hip-Hop
Songs
[9] 		Dance
Club
Songs
[10] 		Smooth Jazz
Airplay
[11]
1976"Marching in the Street"93——Marching in the Street
1978"Till You Take My Love"57——Funk in a Mason Jar
1979"Groovin' You"5832—Groovin' You
1981"We Can Start Tonight"5594—M.V.P.
2014"If I Ever Lose This Heaven" (featuring Chris Turner)——19Chameleon
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

References

  1. 1 2 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1637. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Vincent. "AC native Harvey Mason moves to the beat of his drum; Native son returns to Atlantic City Saturday to perform his own music", The Press of Atlantic City , June 23, 2015. Accessed August 8, 2018. "'It was a one-of-a-kind kind of situation, and unfortunately, it doesn't exist that way, but I was very, very fortunate,' said Mason, who began playing drums professionally during the 1960s while attending Atlantic City High School."
  3. ↑ Feather, Leonard (1987). The encyclopedia of jazz in the seventies. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 234–235. ISBN   978-0-306-80290-4.
  4. ↑ "Fourplay Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Harvey Mason to Receive Honorary Degree at Berklee Commencement". Modern Drummer Magazine. April 16, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Harvey Mason Profile". Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Harvey Mason: Murat Diril Cymbals". muratdiril.com. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 "Artists". Vic Firth . June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Harvey Mason: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard .
  10. ↑ "Harvey Mason: Dance Club Songs". Billboard .
  11. ↑ "Harvey Mason: Smooth Jazz Airplay". Billboard .
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