Henry Mason, North Carolina Revelers orchestra bandleader, knows all about Big Bands.
His 19-member band is well known in both the Triangle and the Triad where they play gigs frequently. The Revelers played for the Rex Hospital Foundation Gala, the Seymour Johnson Air Show, several other balls and fundraisers, and recently for the “Big Band Weekend” at Asheville’s Grove Park Inn where it was on the bill with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
The band’s female singer, Lauren Meehan, is a former Miss New Hampshire. (As Masons explains, “It never hurts a band of old guys to have a former Miss America contestant up front singing.”) The male singer, Kelly Smith, is well known in Greensboro for his work in theatre as well as CFO for Replacements, Ltd.
Before moving to the Triangle, Mason was bandleader for the fabulous Sentimental Journey Orchestra which played for dozens of special events including Ted Turner’s 50th birthday party. His orchestra also played for President Jimmy Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize celebration in Georgia, the 75th Anniversary party for Atlanta’s fabled Fox Theater, and for a host of other famous celebrations before he moved to Raleigh to be close to family and especially his grandchildren.
“In regard to dancing, I can say that I have played for dancing all of my adult life, and the youngest people I know of any age are dancers,” Mason says. “Not only do dancers last longer, but their outlook on life tends to remain outgoing.”
Having recently joined the ranks of Senior Citizenry, he adds, “My philosophy has always echoed that of the famous baseball player Satchel Paige who was quoted as saying ‘Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.’”
In a recent telephone interview, he summed it up: “I have always considered Big Band music to be America’s ‘classical’ music and feel that good dance music is just as relevant to today’s world as it was in the past.”