Dutch Mason, (19 February 1938 – 23 December 2006) was a Canadian musician from Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He was inducted into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2005.

Career

Dutch started performing as a musician in the mid-1950s, usually playing rock and roll or

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

standards as well as traditional music from the Canadian

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

.The Ducats Showband Paragon LP ALS-242 Dutch regularly played the local twin city lounge scene, notably The Wyse Owl/Eastern Billiards, The Dartmouth Inn and The Monterey in Halifax. As he began to become known as a blues artist in the sixties, he started to tour various parts of Canada. Into the 1970s and onwards, he became a very popular act and toured the country regularly, performing at the legendary Albert Hall in Toronto and the Rising Sun in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In 1998, during his 60th birthday celebration, the CBC recorded a live tribute CD that includes performances by the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, Sam Moon and

Frank MacKay Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

. In 2004, he was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Best Blues album and in 2005 nominated for Best Blues album at the

East Coast Music Awards The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

. Dutch is survived by his sons Charlie Mason and

Garrett Mason Garrett Paul Mason (born June 19, 1985) is an American politician from Maine. A Republican, Mason formerly served in the Maine State Senate from the 22nd District, representing part of Androscoggin County, including his residence in Lisbon Falls ...

, who won the 2005

for Best Blues album.

Discography

* ''Dutch Mason Trio at the Candlelight'' – 1971 * ''Putting It All Together'' – 1971 * ''The Blues Ain't Bad'' – 1976 * ''Janitor of the Blues'' – 1977 * ''Wish Me Luck'' – 1979 * ''Dutch Mason Blues'' - 1979 * ''Special Brew'' – 1980 * ''Gimmee A Break'' – early 1982 * ''I'm Back'' – 1991 * ''You Can't Have Everything'' – 1992 * ''Prime Minister of the Blues - 1993 * ''Appearing Nightly'' – 1996 * ''Dutchie's 60th Birthday'' – 1998 * ''Goodtimes'' – 1999

References

External links

Dutch Mason websiteDutch 'Prime Minister of the Blues' Mason dies (CTV News)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Dutch 1938 births 2006 deaths People from Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia Canadian people of British descent Canadian blues guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian blues singers Canadian blues pianists Deaths from diabetes Members of the Order of Canada Attic Records (Canada) artists Musicians from Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian pianists 20th-century Canadian guitarists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians