David Mason (2 April 1926 – 29 April 2011) was an English orchestral, solo and session trumpet player. He played the flugelhorn for the premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams's ninth symphony and the piccolo trumpet solo on the Beatles' song "Penny Lane".
Career
Mason was born in London,
The Royal College of Music has awarded a David Mason Prize for Orchestral Trumpet Playing.
Mason was the flugelhorn soloist for the world premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 9 on 2 April 1958. The novelty of the flugelhorn (often seen as a jazz or brass band instrument) being used in such a significant mainstream classical work attracted much press comment at the time, perhaps to the detriment of the symphony's overall coverage and consideration. The solo, inspired by Mason's performance of Bach's 2nd Brandenburg Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra, is in a mock-Baroque style for which the piccolo trumpet is particularly suited, having a clean and clear sound which penetrates well through thicker midrange textures.
Mason recorded the solo using a piccolo trumpet in A (this uses a slightly longer leadpipe than the piccolo trumpet in B-flat, which itself is an octave higher than a standard B-flat trumpet). Although such piccolo trumpet solos became almost commonplace in some types of pop, this was innovative at the time and was among the first such uses: George Martin later wrote, "The result was unique, something which had never been done in rock music before".
Mason also contributed to several other Beatles songs, including "A Day in the Life", "Magical Mystery Tour", "All You Need Is Love" and "It's All Too Much".