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1 Guitarist/keyboardist from Roy Ayers’ late-’70s jazz-funk band|2 English actor (1909-1984)|3 UK/USA singer of covers|4 indie-folk singer from Richmond, Virginia|——————————————————————————————————-|1 Guitarist/keyboardist James Mason was a member of Roy Ayers’ legendary late-’70s jazz-funk band, making his most prominent appearance on the 1977 LP Lifeline and its Mason showcase cut “Running Away.” That same year, Mason recorded his debut solo album, Rhythm of Life, for the tiny New York independent label Chiaroscuro. It went out of print in an extremely short time, and Mason never recorded another one, pretty much disappearing from sight. However by the ’90s, Rhythm of Life had attained near-Holy Grail status among acid jazz enthusiasts, partly because of its rarity and partly because its music — even more rooted in funk than Ayers’ — seemed to perfectly epitomize what the rare-groove revival was all about. Finally, in 1999, England’s Soul Brother Records acquired the rights to the master tapes and reissued Rhythm of Life on CD, allowing the album to claim its rightful status as a lost classic.|——————————————————————————————————-|2 The actor (e.g. http://www.last.fm/music/James+Mason/Ecclesiastes)|James Neville Mason (15 May 1909 Huddersfield, UK – 27 July 1984 Lausanne, Switzerland) was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes (winning once).|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mason|http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000051/bio|Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita (1962)|& lots more|———————————————————————————————————-|3 UK/USA singer of covers : www.last.fm/music/James+Mason/_/Paparazzi+(Cover)|———————————————————————————————————-|4 indie-folk singer from Richmond, Virginia|In 2003, James wrote and recorded a solo album entitled Carnival Sky under the label Sonoface Records. Several tracks on this record feature James’ brother, Christian Mason. On these collaborative tracks, both brothers were surprised to find that they had penned a unique and striking sound. With two finger-picked acoustic guitars playing in unison, the brothers created an arresting, acoustic wall of sound. The record drew praise from places as far away as Luxembourg and Greece for its stripped-down acoustic ballads, redolent of L.A. troubadour Elliott Smith.|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Brothers|———————————————————————————————————- |
