Early Life
Harvey Mason was born Harvey William Mason on February 22, 1947, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He attended Atlantic City High School, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory. When Harvey was four years old, he started playing drums with the encouragement of his father, who had served as a drummer in the army band.
Career
Mason was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock’s jazz fusion band The Headhunters. After leaving the group in the early ’70s, Harvey co-founded Fourplay, a jazz quartet that went on to release more than a dozen albums, including “Between the Sheets” (1993), “Elixir” (1995), “4” (1998), “Yes, Please!” (2000), “X” (2006), “Let’s Touch the Sky” (2010), and “Silver” (2015). He has played as a sideman with George Benson, Bill Withers, and Lee Ritenour and has performed on albums by numerous artists, such as The Brothers Johnson, Donald Byrd, Ron Carter, DeBarge, Bobbi Humphrey, Bob James, Carole King, Minnie Riperton, Dionne Warwick, Grover Washington Jr., Bill Withers, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, James Brown, Cher, and Roberta Flack. He also released several of his own albums, and the singles “Marching in the Street,” “Till You Take My Love,” “Groovin’ You,” “We Can Start Tonight,” and “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” (featuring Chris Turner) made it onto the “Billboard” charts. “Marching in the Street” reached #93 on the Hot R&B Hip-Hop Songs chart, and “Till You Take My Love” peaked at #57 on that chart. “Groovin’ You” reached #32 on the Dance Club Songs chart and #58 on the Hot R&B Hip-Hop Songs chart, and “We Can Start Tonight” peaked at #94 and #55, respectively, on those charts. “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” reached #19 on the Smooth Jazz Airplay chart.
Personal Life
On June 3, 1968, Harvey and his wife, Sally, welcomed a son, Harvey Mason Jr. Harvey Jr. often accompanied his father to recording sessions, and he wrote his first song at just eight years old. Harvey Jr. grew up to become a songwriter, record producer, and music producer who has earned nominations from the Grammy Awards, Primetime Emmys, and Golden Globes and has worked with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Luther Vandross. In 2015, Mason received an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music.
Award Nominations
Fourplay has earned six Grammy nominations. They received a Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (Instrumental) nomination for “Between the Sheets” in 1994, followed by a Best Contemporary Jazz Performance nomination for “Elixir” in 1996. The group was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for “Yes, Please!” in 2001 and “Journey” in 2005, and they earned a Best Pop Instrumental Album nomination for “X” in 2007 and a Best Pop Instrumental Performance nomination for “Fortune Teller” in 2009.
