Roxy Soundcheck: Spotlight on Sean Mason

 

This week at Roxy Bar located in the Roxy Hotel New York, we’re proud to feature Sean Mason, who’s best known for his high-energy piano performances.

 

Get to know more about Sean here and watch him live in action on Youtube.

Make sure to stay-tuned each Thursday for a new installment of The Roxy Soundcheck!

 

Musically yours,

 

The Roxy Bar Team

 

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NAME: Sean Mason

 

HOMETOWN: Charlotte, NC

 

MUSICAL TRAINING: University of North Carolina at Greensboro and The Juilliard School in NYC.

 

FIRST GIGS: My first gigs were in restaurants, bars and clubs in my hometown of Charlotte, NC. I’d say that the first gigs that really helped my musical development while I was still in North Carolina were concerts with local jazz and R&B cats, playing every Sunday in church, and touring with Branford Marsalis.

 

MY MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, John Coltrane and Keith Jarrett.

 

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: My listening habits change often, but as of right now I’ve been listening to the new Roy Hargrove/Mulgrew Miller duo record that just came out, Nat King Cole’s early trio recordings from Capitol Records, and Sarah Vaughn’s orchestral recordings from Mercury Records in the 1940s.

 

LATEST MUSICAL PROJECTS: Aside from my performing life – touring, playing concerts and recording albums both as a leader and a sideman, I’m working on a couple of films and musicals for 2022 that are very exciting!

 

FAVORITE PLACE TO GO IN NYC: When I’m not somewhere performing, you can catch me at the gym or at a restaurant eating all of the diverse and tasty food NYC has to offer!

 

IN 2022 I HOPE TO: Continue doing what I’m doing, which fortunately is what I love doing – which is playing music.

 

WHY I LOVE PERFORMING AT THE ROXY BAR: I love the audience that comes every week, I love the musicians that I call to play with and also those that come to sit in. It’s really turning into a true cultural jazz experience – and most importantly, the staff is amazing, they really make me feel at home. I love playing at the Roxy Bar week after week while continuing to develop my craft – as in this day in age a weekly gig is becoming rarer and rarer, and I’m extremely grateful to play at the Roxy Bar every Tuesday.