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Mason Brothers Quintet

Brad and Elliot Mason hail from Norwich, England, a quiet city 100 miles north of London. Their father, Barry Mason, a trumpet/trombone player and teacher, and their mother, Christine Vance, a jazz vocalist, introduced the young brothers early on to such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Rosolino, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. While only in their teens, Brad and Elliot became highly skilled in jazz improvisation and they were soon renowned for their maturity and musicality. Alone, each musician is outstanding, but together, the brothers' almost psychic connection creates improvisational magic. Today, based in New York, they are taking their unique contemporary sound beyond the boundaries of improvisation and composition to heights both dramatic and inspirational.

Brad Mason

Brad Mason (trumpet) was born in England. When only 5 years old, he began trumpet lessons with his father, Barry. At 9, he began piano lessons and played both instruments at school and outside recitals. By 14, he was performing three to four times a week in dance halls, theaters, clubs, and pubs. Though his repertoire included a variety of musical styles, the young musician was drawn early to jazz and improvisation. At age 17, Brad won the national Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Soloist Award and was a featured performer at John Dankworth’s Wavendon Jazz School.

Later that year, Brad moved to the United States to study, on a full tuition scholarship, at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts where he met and studied with Hal Crook and Phil Wilson, among others. He won his second Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Soloist Under 25 Award in 1993, the same year his younger brother, Elliot, won the Under 21 category. Brad represented Berklee at performances throughout the United States, and in 1995 he traveled to Israel to perform at Dave Liebman’s annual I.A.S.J. conference. He received the Clark Terry Award in recognition of outstanding performance abilities from Berklee College of Music in both 1994 and 1995. It was during these years at Berklee that Brad developed his interest in the electronic valve instrument (EVI) and he soon integrated it into his performances. After graduating from Berklee, Brad moved to New York City where he quickly became in demand as a trumpet and EVI player.

Mason performed at the 31st American Music Awards as a member of the band, Bombsquad, the recipients of the American Music Award for Best Unsigned Band of 2003. In January 2007, Mason joined the John Mayer Band for a 2 1/2 year stint of recording and touring world wide. Soon after this in 2011 Brad became a faculty member at NorthWestern University in Chicago as their Jazz Trumpet Professor.

He started working with Diana Ross as her lead trumpet in the summer of 2013 and then joined Blood Sweat & Tears as a full time member in June 2015. He is currently their MD (Musical Director) and can be seen touring with them world wide. While freelancing & teaching in New York & Chicago, Mason continues to co- lead the Mason Brothers Quintet with his brother, Elliot.

Mason’s recent career includes performances with Blood Sweat & Tears, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra w/Wynton Marsalis, Melissa Etheridge, Diana Ross, Vincent Herring, Carl Allen, Cyrus Chestnut, Randy Brecker, the Christian McBride Big Band, the Bernie Williams Band, John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jessica Simpson, Alicia Keys, Natalie Cole, Caro Emerald, Willie Nelson, the Isley Brothers, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Gary Burton, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Binney, Mingus Big Band, Chico O’Farrel’s Latin Jazz Band, Joe Zawinul, Gary Husband, Lionel Loueke, Lionel Hampton, Bill Pierce, Hiram Bullock, Claudio Roditi, Dave Liebman, Ronny Jordan, Abe Laboriel, and Lenny White.

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Album Review

Mason Brothers Band: Two Sides, One Story

Read "Two Sides, One Story" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


After spending 20 years performing under the leadership of others, British brothers Brad and Elliot Mason step out front, taking charge of an all-star band that redefines the trumpet-trombone front line of drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers of the '50s and '60s. The round and mellow combination of Brad Mason's trumpet with Elliot Mason's trombone sounds almost like the early Crusaders. With pianist David Kikoski, bassist Scott Colley, drummer Antonio Sanchez, and saxophonist Chris Potter joining the ...

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Recording

Brad & Elliot Mason Join Forces as the Mason Brothers on "Two Sides, One Story," Due Oct. 5 from Archival Records

Brad & Elliot Mason Join Forces as the Mason Brothers on "Two Sides, One Story," Due Oct. 5 from Archival Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

The Mason Brothers—trumpeter Brad and trombonist Elliot—have been making music together since they were kids in Norwich, England. Both came to America in the early 1990s on scholarships to Boston's Berklee College of Music and, after graduating and relocating to New York City, have distinguished themselves in a number of challenging musical settings—Elliot with the Mingus Big Band, Count Basie Orchestra, Maria Schneider Orchestra, and, since 2007, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis, and Brad with ...

I was captivated by their first CD Two Sides One Story and this record, let’s say, just takes it from where they left off and while maintaining that tradition, shows them both blossoming and breaking new ground and new perspectives. -RANDY BRECKER
Primary Instrument

Band / ensemble / orchestra

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

2008 – Present Jazz Trombone Instructor at Northwestern University
2006 - Present Jazz Trombone Instructor at The New School, NYC
1996 - Present Jazz Trombone Private Lessons

Clinic/Workshop Information

2008 - Present Clinician for BAC Trombones
2006 – Present Clinician/Education with the JLCO
2004 - Present Clinician with the Randy Brecker Quintet
1995 - 2008 Clinician for Taylor Trombones

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Efflorescence

Archival Records
2016

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Two Sides, One Story

Archival Records
2010

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Videos

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