Interview with Blues – Soul musician Eddie Brooks Mason. An interview by email in writing. 

Dear readers, get to know more about our US/EU Jazz – Blues Festivals and the activities of our US/EU Jazz – Blues Association in the capitals of Europe, we will soon publish program for 2024, enjoy in the July – August – Brussels, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Sofia, new addreses this year, also in Amsterdam, Budapest.

JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How exactly did your adventure take off? When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?

Eddie Brooks Mason: – I grew up in a town, a little south of Atlanta, Georgia. All my friends used to listen to country music and rap. One until one of my buddies showed me the Beatles and it completely blew me away. I found a few recording devices and try to make all my songs sound like there’s. I never stride academically in any way, so I basically have been doing music since I was about 15.

OUR US/EU Jazz and Blues Festivals 2024

JBN: – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?

EBM: – It’s kind of crazy. I started out playing obscure and old style blues back when I was 15 and 16 then we got a manager who said we need to focus on our original music. We kind of got thrown into a scene of indie pop music. We have had slight successes touring around the country. Got a few million streams, but never really took off. Once the pandemic hit I went back to square one and just started making music like I used to. Music that I wanted to make.

OUR US/EU Jazz and Blues Festivals 2023

JBN: – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony?

EBM: – I don’t ever usually practice. My practice is at the shows funny enough I record at my own house and I usually do background harmony to my own self so I’ve been doing that for about 10 years I know how to harmonize with myself pretty well lol as far as practicing for rhythm you gotta have a good drummer

JBN: – Have you changed through the years? Any charges or overall evolution? And if so why?

EBM: – Not really I’ve been pretty crazy my whole musical career. I’ve been very lucky to have a brother to stick around and play bass and sort out all the business decisions on the road and what not I know I can get very anal about ways to record how things must sound the tone and gear we choose to have, I can get pretty crazy. But at least I feel like I’ve always been like that so it’s normal.

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JBN: – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

EBM: – That’s a tough question. I don’t know? I just know when we’re doing tunes we all have to feel it and enjoy it. I see a lot of bands out there that are playing live and they’re not enjoying it.  It’s kind of like giving your 110% advice.

JBN: – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people th emotion they long for?

EBM: – I can never really feel the emotions of the audience. It’s always been kind of more of a thing or I go up, give it my best and then open my eyes to see if they’re diggin it. I’ve always viewed the audience as kind of like the band. If they’re not happy, we’re not gonna be happy or vice versa.

JBN: – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of standard tunes are half a century old?

EBM: – I think it’s a parenting thing or a lack of mentor thing. When I came up and did open mics and jams, we were all watching the older folks play and learning, and when we got done, they would have plenty of advice to tell us what we should work on. And in a digital age now, no one can tell you if you’re doing it wrong or right, they just hit like on your post. It’s kind of scary. Everyone’s getting kind of lazier. Schools could put more effort in getting kids to learn music, but they messed up and gave them the iPad instead. You give a little kid that when they’re six years old, they never gonna want to learn who Miles Davis was. At this point it’s going to be the musicians’ kids who will hopefully learn about good music. Number one albums today are being made on one laptop with no keyboards or instruments at all. In the long run, I hope it makes my type of art, jazz musicians, blues musicians, more valuable down the line.

JBN: – John Coltrane once said that music was his spirit. How do you perceive the spirit and the meaning of life?

EBM: – Whenever I feel down, I just remember what else I could be doing job wise. I’ve been able to grow up, find the instruments and go out and do it and actually get a chance at a career. Lotta folks don’t have that luxury so my meaning of life is waking up every day looking in the mirror and being grateful for all the days I’ve had getting to live out my dream, travel the world, and play my music.

JBN: – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?

EBM: – Van Morrison, J.J. Cale, the greyhounds Bobby Charles, and of course always B.B. and Freddie King.

OUR US/EU Jazz and Blues Association 2023

JBN: – Let’s take a trip with a time machine: where and why would you really want to go?

EBM: – Honestly, probably the 1920s during prohibition. I love alcohol and I think it would be so much fun being a band or musician back in that time. Everything was so exciting, always about to be caught at a speakeasy. I know that sounds like a very seedy life. Which I kind of like. Either that or 1966 and write “For What It’s Worth” before Stephen Stills did.

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Interview by Emmanuel Bolton