Debut release Chameleon set for April 2014
Concord
Records today announced the signing of an exclusive solo deal with
legendary session drummer, producer, composer & recording artist
Harvey Mason, whose debut recording for the label, Chameleon, will be released in April 2014.
A blend of R&B, urban and cutting-edge jazz,
Chameleon
takes its inspiration from the title track, which Mason co-wrote with
Herbie Hancock, and is a knowing nod to Mason himself, aptly dubbed the
“Chameleon” for his uncanny ability to perform so many styles of music.
The album updates classic
tracks that Mason either wrote or actually played on, such as Hancock’s
“Chameleon,” Grover Washington’s “Black Frost,” Patrice Rushen’s
“Before the Dawn,” Donald Byrd’s “Places and Spaces” and Mason’s own
“Either Way.” Look for Mason to hit the road with
his new band Chameleon to support his Concord release.
Mason
is among the most recorded and in-demand drummers of all-time. He has
worked with a pantheon of musical giants, including Barbra Streisand,
James Brown, Herbie Hancock,
Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Ray
Charles, Bjork, Carlos Santana, Michael Jackson, John Legend, Seal, and
the London Symphony Orchestra. He has composed and written songs
recorded by artists ranging from Nancy Wilson and
Mary J. Blige to The Notorious B.I.G., Lupe Fiasco, Nelly/P. Diddy and
T.I. Mason’s deal with Concord adds one more remarkable chapter to his
legacy.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with Harvey Mason again,” says Mark Wexler,
General Manager of the Concord-Telarc Label
Group. “We have known Harvey for many years through his work with the
contemporary jazz supergroup Fourplay, and he is not only one of the
world’s most talented musicians, he’s also
a consummate music professional – a brilliant producer, composer,
arranger and conceptualist.”
Mason
is a founding member of Fourplay, and he continues to flex his writing,
playing, arranging and production skills with partners Bob James,
Nathan East and Chuck Loeb.
Fourplay’s most recent recording, Esprit De Four, was released on Heads Up, a division of Concord Music Group, and debuted at #1 on
Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart, receiving a GRAMMY® nomination.
Born
in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1947, Mason began taking formal drum
lessons at age seven, playing in school bands and finally buying his
first drum set at the age
of 16. He continued his education first at the Berklee School of Music,
then attended the New England Conservatory of Music on full
scholarship, studying performance, composing, arranging, percussion and
mallets. He received immeasurable preparation for orchestral
work from the legendary Vic Firth, timpanist with the Boston Symphony.
In the’70s and ’80s, “Mase” was king, working on Donald Byrd’s commercial breakthrough album
Black Byrd and a series of successful crossover albums for Blue
Note Records. This led to his seminal work on Herbie Hancock’s jazz
masterpiece
Head Hunters (1974), which featured the hit “Chameleon” (co-composed by Mason) and Mason’s own arrangement of Hancock’s “Watermelon Man.”
A
string of recordings comprising a “Fusion 101″ class for aspiring
drummers soon followed, including performances on Grover Washington
Jr.’s
Mister Magic, Bob James’ Three (featuring “Westchester Lady”), Lee Ritenour’s
Captain Fingers, and many more. The icing on the cake for this
phenomenal ’70s output was Mason’s contribution to George Benson’s
triple-platinum selling
Breezin’ album.
Mason’s precision playing has graced movies for such renowned composers as Michael Giacchino (Cars 2, Mission Impossible 1, 2, 3 & 4, Up , Star Trek, Speed Racer),
Michel Colombier (Prince’s Purple Rain), Michel Legrand, Miles Davis’ (Dingo), Dave Grusin (Three Days of the Condor,
The Fabulous Baker Boys and On Golden Pond), John Williams (Hook), and Lalo Schifrin (Rush Hour
1,2 & 3 and The Enforcer), Harvey Mason ( Dreamgirls, Get On Up) to name only a few.
With
a commitment to broaden his solo career, Mason says that he’s finally
found a good balance. “It’s become more evident to me how much I love
playing live and having
interaction with band mates and music fans. I’m not a smooth jazz
player or a straight-ahead jazz player. I’m more than all of that, I
am the
Chameleon.” He adds, “The best is yet to come.”
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Introducing you to the music of singer-songwriter-poet Offiong Bassey (www.OffiongBassey.com) is a privilege. Her self-titled global soul debut album signals the arrival of a cross-cultural artist of substance and breadth with a unique perspective and heritage. The Boston-born woman of Nigerian parents sings, raps and chants stories and commentary in English, Pidgin English and Efik, her native tongue, immersed in earthy body-moving Afro-Peruvian rhythms amidst R&B harmonies, danceable funk, jazz intonations, divinely-illumined gospel and colorful Nigerian Ekombi. The CD that will be released February 4th, after a limited release last year debuted at #2 on the CMJ New World Music chart, reached #4 on the SoulTracks chart and garnered a full-page feature in the Boston Globe. 
