WUNC Music's Brian Burns spoke with Sean Mason ahead of his two shows at Missy Lane's Assembly Room in Durham, framing the conversation around a run of momentum: born and raised in Charlotte, Mason caught the attention of Branford Marsalis while at UNC Greensboro before relocating to New York, where he released two acclaimed albums within nine months of each other, The Southern Suite in October 2023 on Jazz at Lincoln Center's label, and Chrome Valley, his April 2024 collaboration with poet Mahogany L. Browne exploring the Black experience in America.
Mason traces his start on piano back to age 13, when his grandmother bought him a keyboard, and he began picking out songs he heard on the radio and in church. An upright piano at his middle school led a band teacher to move him into the jazz band the moment he heard him play, and from there, Mason learned by ear before developing a more formal practice routine.
Asked what audiences could expect from the Missy Lane's shows, Mason describes a quartet built around uplifting energy, one he sees as a return to jazz's original spirit of nuanced optimism and the blues rather than a departure from it, with the explicit goal of getting people dancing and enjoying themselves.
On what's been inspiring him lately, Mason points to a deep dive into the concerto and opera, having recently worked through the entirety of Mozart's piano concertos and studied Richard Strauss, whom he considers among the form's greatest composers. He describes drawing clear through-lines between Romantic and post-Romantic classical music and the jazz tradition he works in today.
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WUNC is North Carolina Public Radio, an NPR member station based in Chapel Hill covering news, music, and culture across the state. The station's music coverage regularly features conversations with touring artists ahead of North Carolina performances, alongside its local news programming and shows like Due South.
ALSO AVAILABLE
The Southern Suite is available on vinyl, CD, and sheet music, with a student discount for enrolled learners. For updates, subscribe to Sean's mailing list.
FOLLOW SEAN MASON
Instagram: @seanmason
TikTok: @seanmason_
Facebook: Sean Mason Official
YouTube: Sean Mason
X (Twitter): @seanmason
Spotify: Sean Mason
RESOURCES
Official Website: seanmason.net
Stream the Album: Listen on Spotify
Original Source: Read/listen on WUNC
