The Bitter Southerner includes The Southern Suite at No. 15 on its Best Southern Albums of 2023 list, a 20-record roundup spanning Americana, hip-hop, country, indie folk, jazz, punk, and more, compiled as part of the outlet's 10th-anniversary coverage. The list opens with a challenge to a piece of industry conventional wisdom: that no one listens to an album front to back anymore, and asks readers to prove it wrong with the records included.
For Mason's entry, the outlet traces his musical roots back to childhood in Charlotte, watching his grandmother dance around the house to Ray Charles and Duke Ellington records, a memory the piece connects directly to the deep, personal thread running through The Southern Suite. The write-up notes Mason started piano at 13 before going on to study at Juilliard, and highlights "Closure" as the entry's favorite track from the album.
"There's a lyrical nature to the album that's undeniable." — The Bitter Southerner
The piece describes the album as harmonically complex yet unmistakably lyrical, crediting Mason with speaking through his instrument in a way that invites the listener in even without vocals. It closes by tying the record's recurring polyphonic melodies to Mason's love of New Orleans and its foundational place in jazz, alongside the honor he pays throughout to both his grandmother and his hometown.
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN SUITE ALBUM
The Southern Suite is Sean Mason's debut album, released October 27, 2023, on Blue Engine Records (BE-0043) and later added to the Taylor Christian Records catalog in January 2026. Across eight original compositions, the Charlotte-born pianist and composer draws on his Southern upbringing and family history, backed by a quintet featuring Tony Glausi, Chris Lewis, Felix Moseholm, and Domo Branch. The album reached No. 13 on JazzWeek and No. 4 on the NACC Jazz chart, with airplay on more than 310 stations internationally.
ABOUT THE BITTER SOUTHERNER
The Bitter Southerner is an independent media company based in Georgia, founded in 2013 to tell a fuller, more current story of Southern life and culture than the stereotypes it was built to push back against. Beyond its music coverage, the outlet publishes narrative journalism, photo essays, and food writing, and produces print magazines, a podcast, and its own record label under the mission of serving as, in its own words, a beacon for the American South.
RESOURCES
Official Website: seanmason.net
Stream the Album: Listen on Spotify
Original Source: Read the full list on The Bitter Southerner
