Elliot Mason (born 13 January 1977) is an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

. He also plays the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and the

bass trumpet The bass trumpet is a type of low trumpet which was first developed during the 1820s in Germany. It is usually pitched in 8' C or 9' B today, but is sometimes built in E and is treated as a transposing instrument sounding either an octave, a sixt ...

. He has been praised by such musicians as

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

for his technical facility and innovative harmonically complex improvisation.

History

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, England, Elliot was a young talent, playing in clubs as early as age eleven. He rapidly made a name for himself in the local jazz scene. At age fourteen, he won the national Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Soloist Award and was featured at John Dankworth's Wavendon Jazz School. The following year, Elliot and his brother Brad (trumpet), won the national Daily Telegraph competition for a second time. Mason left England at age sixteen to study at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. In 2007, Mason joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Meanwhile, Mason also plays in the Mason Brothers Band alongside his brother, Brad. Mason was a featured soloist during the JLCO 2009 premiere tour, which originally aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. In 2008, Mason was asked to join the music faculty at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Awards

Elliot has received numerous accolades, including the

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, Gen ...

Award and

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

Award (

). He also won the International Trombone Workshop's "Under 29" Jazz Trombone competition in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Elliot 1977 births Living people English jazz trombonists English jazz trumpeters British jazz keyboardists Berklee College of Music alumni 21st-century trombonists The Delphian Jazz Orchestra members Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members