Harvey Mason

Harvey Mason is one of those drummers whose fingerprints are all over records you've loved for decades without necessarily knowing his name — and that's kind of a testament to how good he is. Born in Atlantic City and trained at Berklee, he played on some of the most landmark recordings of the 1970s, including Herbie Hancock's Headhunters sessions, which basically redefined what jazz-funk could be. His pocket is immaculate, never flashy for its own sake, always in service of the groove. And then he quietly built a second career as a smooth jazz institution through Fourplay, staying relevant across generations. The guy has range, taste, and an almost frustrating consistency — the kind of musician other musicians cite as an influence while casual listeners have no idea he exists. Pure craftsman energy.

Name (English)

Harvey Mason

Name (Japanese)

ハーヴィー・メイソン

Reading

はーゔぃー・めいそん

Born

February 22, 1947 (age 79)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Boar

Origin

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Occupation

jazz musician / drummer / record producer / musician

High school

Atlantic City High School

University

Berklee College of Music

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://www.harveymason.net
• Xhttps://x.com/HarveyMasonSr
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8F%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3

Tags

• New Jersey
• jazz musician
• drummer
• record producer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.