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Harvey Mason began his study of the drums at the age of 7 in his native Atlantic City, New Jersey. At 16 he had his first drum set and he would later attend the Berklee School of Music and graduate from the New England Conservatory of Music. By the late ’60’s he was performing with Erroll Garner and Duke Ellington. In the ’70’s he became a much sought-after studio musician and he also did a lot of film and television work. He made notable appearances on Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Donald Byrd’s Black Byrd and George Benson’s Breezin’. Clive Davis signed Mason to his Arista label in 1976. Five recordings came from this deal including 1979’s Groovin’ You of which the title track was sampled by house music producer Gusto in 1995 for “Disco’s Revenge.” Marching In The Street was his first solo release and the title track and “Modaji” are foundations of jazz fusion. Mason’s last recording as a soloist was 2004’s With All My Heart. Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles are a handful of the artists he has performed with on a list that is too long to name. He has received multiple Grammy nominations and is a founding member of the smooth jazz group Fourplay. His son is Harvey Mason, Jr. who is one-half of the production team The Underdogs who have produced tracks for people like Fantasia, Mariah Carey and Beyonce. Father and son worked together on the soundtrack for the 2006 film adaptation of “Dreamgirls.”
