BIOGRAPHY
Co-leader of the Mason Brothers Quintet
Member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 2006 - present
Jazz Trombone Professor at The Juilliard School 2016 - present
Jazz Trombone Professor at NYU 2011 – 2019
Artist in Residence at Berklee College Of Music 2014 - 2015
Jazz Trombone Professor at Northwestern University 2008 - 2015
Jazz Trombone Professor at The New School 2006 – 2014
Quotes
“Elliot’s unbelievable as a trombonist, there’s unworldly facility, virtuosity and clarity in his playing, he can sing a melody out from the trombone; it’s like a human voice the way he plays it” – Wynton Marsalis
“Setting the bar for jazz trombone, redefining the parameters of brass playing in it’s purest sense, and taking that aspect of his art into new realms too”
– Randy Brecker
“Elliot Mason has to be one of the most important trombone/bass trumpet voices in modern music to emerge. He truly transcends the instruments he is undoubtedly already so supremely proficient in mastering to a level where I wasn't even aware it was trombone or a bass trumpet. To me, that's greatness. In Elliot you experience everything, from the most profound lyricism right over to the most intense, vital and truly electrifying. A most compelling, moving and exhilarating musician of today” – Gary Husband
“Elliot brings innovation, imagination, intelligence, fire and fierce swing to the trombone” – Michael Brecker
Biography
Elliot Mason (Trombone), born in England. He began trumpet lessons with his father at age four. At age seven, struck with an overwhelming curiosity in his father’s trombone, young Mason soon switched his focus from the trumpet.
As an eleven-year-old, Mr. Mason was already performing as a trombonist in dance halls, theaters, clubs, and pubs, covering all styles of music but concentrating primarily on jazz and improvisation. At fifteen, he won the national Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Soloist (under 25) Award and was featured at John Dankworth’s Wavendon Jazz School. Entering alternate age categories the next year, Elliot and his brother Brad, as the Mason brothers, won the national competition a second time and by age sixteen, Mr. Mason left England to join his brother at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts on a full tuition scholarship where he met and studied with Hal Crook and Phil Wilson, among others.
In 1994, Mr. Mason won the prestigious Frank Rosolino Award for outstanding trombone performance abilities, and was invited to perform at the International Trombone Workshop. At eighteen, he won the ITW ‘s Under 29 Jazz Trombone competition, as well as the Slide Hampton Award in recognition of outstanding performance abilities from Berklee. After graduating from Berklee in 1996, Mr. Mason moved to New York City, where he distinguished himself as a respected and highly in demand trombone and bass trumpet player.
In 2007, Elliot Mason was invited to become a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, directed by Wynton Marsalis. While continuing to perform with the JLCO, Mr. Mason co-leads the Mason Brothers Quintet with his brother Brad.
In 2011, Mr. Mason was asked to join NYU’s faculty as a jazz trombone instructor within their extensive Jazz Studies Program.
Mr. Mason joined the faculty of Juilliard School of Music in 2016, as their jazz trombone instructor/studio class facilitator.
Mr. Mason is endorsed by B.A.C. musical instruments, he is currently playing on his own signature series line of custom trombones.
Elliot Mason’s career includes performances with the Count Basie Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau, Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra. Mr. Mason has also performed with Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Natalie Cole, Queen Latifah, Jessica Simpson, Shirley Bassey, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, Bobby Hutcherson, Ahmad Jamal, Chucho Valdes, Chano Dominquez, Randy Brecker, Carl Fontana, Bill Watrous, Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Chris Potter, Joe Zawinul, Mike Stern, Hiram Bullock, Airto Moreira, Marcus Roberts, Matt Garrison, Antonio Sanchez, Tim Hagans, Cyro Baptista.
Recent Discography
Sofija Knezevic – Sofijazz
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Black, Brown & Beige
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Rock Chalk Suite
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Sherman Irby's Inferno
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – The Music of Wayne Shorter
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Jazz for Kids
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Una Noche Con Ruben Blades
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Big Band Holidays II
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Swing Symphony
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Sherman Irby's Inferno
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Jazz and Art
Elliot Mason & Cre8tion – Before, Now & After
Sherman Irby & Momentum – Cerulean Canvas
The Mason Brothers Quintet – Efflorescence
Ted Nash Big Band – Presidential Suite (2017 Grammy for Best Large Ensemble)
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Handful of Keys
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – The Music of John Lewis
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Big Band Holidays
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – The Abyssinian Mass
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Live in Cuba
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Portrait in Seven Shades
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – Vitoria Suite
The Mason Brothers Quintet – Two Sides, One Story