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20 October 2011
John-Alex Mason Passes
John-Alex Mason, talented musician from Colorado, has passed at age 35.
According to Colorado Springs' The Gazzette, he died of complications after
surgery to remove cancerous tissue.
Mason's style of music attracted a lot of positive attention. His "Town & Country"
was a mixture of urban and rural blues styles. "Jook Joint Thunderclap" turned
out to be his last album. On the album he collaborated with African musicians and
the legendary Burnside family.
John-Alex Mason attributed his love of music to two central people from his
childhood in Colorado. First, his older brother, Stephen, who rocked out to music
of the 60’s and 70’s - Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and the
Allman Brothers Band. And second, his godmother, Viola Marigna, who introduced
him to Baptist moans and gospel through her own voice, mass choir concerts and
church performances.
“I remember the exact moment Stephen played Led Zeppelin II for me and how
powerful the smell of heavy perfume and anticipation was at Viola’s church,”
Mason once said. It was not long before Mason discovered blues music and the
bridge between praising and rocking.
As a quiet teen, Mason spent his free time listening to blues records – one of the
first was Muddy Waters’ “Hard Again.” That same year the album’s producer
Johnny Winter and harp contributor James Cotton came through to play separate
shows at Colorado College.
“I was pretty well floored by those two shows. I finally came to when Cotton’s
guitar player asked me if everything was alright and I realized that I was the only
person left in the theater, still staring up at the stage.” Columbia’s release of the
“Complete Robert Johnson” when Mason was 15 led to a particular fascination
and relationship with solo country blues artists that suited his then shy style.
Holding his burgeoning musical talent close to his chest, Mason headed to
Vermont to pursue a degree in conservation biology. It was in college where
Mason met fellow blues devotee and gifted multi-instrumentalist Gerry Hundt,
now a member of Nick Moss and the Flip Tops, and began playing live shows.
But it was his first job working for a military contractor in Germany that led Mason
to consider music as a full-time pursuit. “The job was rough and boring, but the
nights were a blast, busking for people far away from the Army life.” The streets
of Dutch, French and German cities were the perfect places to develop his
distinctive style and stage presence.
The street also played a critical role in the development of his one-man band
show. After winning the Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition in 2001, Mason was
hired back to teach slide guitar at the festival’s guitar camp. It was through the
Telluride Blues and Brews festival that Mason developed his passion for teaching
and met and came under the influence of contemporary luminaries Taj Mahal,
John Cephas, Phil Wiggins, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Anders Osborne and Richard
Johnston.
Later Mason got to perform with BB King, James Cotton, John Mayall, Jimmie
Vaughan, The Yardbirds, John Hammond, Robben Ford, Bob Margolin, Kelly Joe
Phelps, Joan Osborne, Otis Taylor, Carolyn Wonderland, Will Hoge, Rose Hill
Drive, The White Buffalo, Shemekia Copeland, Johnny A., Bugs Henderson, and
the man Mason called “the King,” Robert Belfour.
Mason is survived by his wife Rosanne, daughter Ruth, mother Charlotte and
brother Stephen.
BluesWebzine.com respects the memory of John-Alex Mason.
Links: John-Alex Mason website and MySpace
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Contact: admin (a) blueswebzine.com
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