R.I.P. David Mason, 85 (he played the piccolo trumpet solo on The Beatles' "Penny Lane")

[Amerigo Vespucci]

David Mason, Trumpeter on the Beatles' 'Penny Lane,' Dead at 85

Posted on May 9th 2011 5:30PM by Dan Reilly



David Mason, the man who performed the famous piccolo trumpet solo on the Beatles' 'Penny Lane,' died on April 29. According to AllMusic, the 85-year-old classical musician passed away after a battle with Leukemia.

The London native was awarded the prestigious Beatles gig in 1967 after Paul McCartney saw him performing Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major with the New Philharmonia on the BBC. Nearly a week later, Mason came to the studio to record his rapid solo, which he always swore wasn't sped up as some Beatles historians claimed. Before the session, the musician didn't know who the Beatles were and he was paid around $45 for his work.
"I did not even know who the Beatles were when I was asked to do a recording session with them," Mason said in a 2003 interview, as the Los Angeles Times reports. "For me it was just another job."

In addition to his contributions to 'Penny Lane,' Mason also performed on the Beatles' tracks 'A Day in the Life,' 'Magical Mystery Tour' and 'All You Need Is Love,' for which he used the same trumpet. Prior to his work in the New Philharmonia, he was a member of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Mason was also a professor at London's Royal College of Music, where he studied as a young man.

[rug]

1. RIP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mQyBRS8Nby8

[dbt]

2. "Famously hard to play in tune."

I believe that was how Sir George Martin described the piccolo trumpet. Apparently, Mr. Mason did not know this. I bet he nailed his part on the first take.

From reading "The Beatles Recording Sessions" by Mark Lewisohn, I was surprised to learn that speed manipulation of the tape recorders at Abbey Road was commonplace. But given Mr. Martin's penchant for getting a good performance ("No amount of technology will fix a bad performance"), I'd venture that any speed-up came well after Mr. Mason had recorded his part.

RIP David Mason. Your notes may well live a thousand years, there beneath the blue suburban skies...

[guitar man]

3. Indeed

RIP Mr Mason

My friend that plays that solo note for note said it was no easy task to learn it. Here he is doing it at a recent performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_tKocQEL8Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player