Harvey Mason, Drums, 1947, Atlantic City, NJ
Harvey attended the Berklee College of Music for a year and a half before receiving a degree in music education from the New England Conservatory. During the early '70s he worked with Erroll Garner and George Shearing. He then moved to Los Angeles and began playing in the television and film studios. He also recorded with Quincy Jones and other prominent jazz musicians. Later, in the 1980s, he played with Victor Feldman and Lee Ritenour. He also played as a sideman with Duke Ellington, Bob James, and George Benson. Mason, one of the most sought-after studio musicians in Los Angeles, has worked in a wide range of popular music styles. His clear, rhythmic playing is well suited for many styles of music.
Buddy Tate, Saxophone, 1915, Sherman, TX
Buddy began playing professionally with Terrence Holder in 1927, but by the mid '30s was part of Count Basie's band where he remaind for ten years. Through the early '50s he played with Hot Lips Page, Lucky Millinder, and Jimmy Rushing. Around this time he formed his own band which was resident at the Celebrity Club, New York, for over 20 years. During this time he played with other leaders and toured Europe with Buck Clayton several times. In the1970s he worked with various groups around New York and recorded with Jay McShann and Jim Galloway in Canada. Tate has a big tone and an exceptional command of the harmonics in the upper register, which he uses as an extension of the tenor's normal range.
Joe LaBarbera, Drums, 1948, Mount Morris, NY
