John mason's music
Recorded live in Boca Raton in 1981
"In 1957 I read about the upcoming first session of the School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts, on the grounds of Wheatleigh, adjacent to the Tanglewood Festival. The faculty was to consist of the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Oscar Peterson Trio, the Jimmy Giuffre Three, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Bill Russo. I applied pretty much on a dare, and it turned out that hundreds (maybe thousands) of trumpet players around the world were daunted by the prospect of taking lessons from Dizzy. The result was that I got maximum exposure to one of my heros for three weeks.
"I got three private lessons a week, rehearsed three days a week with his small combo (with Herb Ellis, Percy Heath and Connie Kay!), sat next to him in the big band rehearsals the other three days, got extra free "lessons" initiated by him, and played alongside him in the Faculty-Student Recital at the end of the session. I can't say enough about Dizzy's generosity and outgoing personality. I also learned a lot in Bill Russo's composition and arranging class. The whole session was an uplifting and unforgettable experience.
"A few years later I learned that there was a much bigger demand for (string) bass players than for trumpet players, so I made the switch and earned a living as a bassist for about ten years."
- John Mason (June, 2013)
"I got three private lessons a week, rehearsed three days a week with his small combo (with Herb Ellis, Percy Heath and Connie Kay!), sat next to him in the big band rehearsals the other three days, got extra free "lessons" initiated by him, and played alongside him in the Faculty-Student Recital at the end of the session. I can't say enough about Dizzy's generosity and outgoing personality. I also learned a lot in Bill Russo's composition and arranging class. The whole session was an uplifting and unforgettable experience.
"A few years later I learned that there was a much bigger demand for (string) bass players than for trumpet players, so I made the switch and earned a living as a bassist for about ten years."
- John Mason (June, 2013)