Rod Mason

Rod Mason (28 September 1940 – 8 January 2017) was an English musician (trumpet, cornet, vocals) who played Trad Jazz.Mason was born in Plymouth, England. Mason, whose father ran a jazz band, initially studied trombone before he started playing trumpet and cornet in his father's band. From 1959 he was a member of the Cy Laurie Band. In 1962 he was part of the Monty Sunshine Band. A facial paralysis forced him to use other mouthpieces, which allowed him to extend the range of his game. In 1965 he founded his own band, and from 1970 he played in the Acker Bilk's Paramount Jazz Band, before he founded a band together with Ian Wheeler in 1973. This was a band with musicians like Brian Lemon, Dick Wellstood or Bob Wilber, he recorded numerous recordings for the Reef label. From 1980 Mason played in the Dutch Swing College Band. In 1985 he founded Hot Five band, with which he released a number of albums for Timeless Records and regularly toured Europe. Mason is according to Digby Fairweather "a world-class trumpeter [...] with a phenomenal versatility, unlimited endurance and the frightening ability to sound like Louis Armstrong." In later life he lived with his wife Ingrid in Kaarst, Germany.