Blues has been a part of Dave Mason’s music and guitar-playing from the very beginning of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career as an 18-year-old founding member of Traffic alongside Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood. Now, some six decades later, Mason is taking his own advice, playing some of the best guitar of his life on his latest album A Shade of Blues.

The 11 songs range from the primal Robert Johnson 12-string acoustic blues of “Come Home in My Kitchen” to the JJ Cale-style folk blues of the Mason-arranged “Cocaine Blues,” the reggae feel of Mason’s “Just Another Fool in Love,” and the Spanish flamenco/Gipsy Kings guitars of his “El Toro,” adding saxophone player Warren Hill to the final mix. There are also bluesy re-imaginings of Traffic standards “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy", with world-class guitarist Joe Bonamassa adding his distinctive riffs to both tracks. Michael McDonald adds vocal harmony, piano and organ to Mason’s self-penned “It’s Just You and Me,” recorded several years ago in Dave’s current Hawaii home studio. 

A Shade of Blues is living proof of the longevity of the blues as well as the artist, with Dave Mason burnishing his Hall of Fame legacy, proving that by continuing to use it, you won’t lose it. He continues to tour as Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam, playing many of the hits he helped create. In 2024 Mason released his memoir, ‘Only You Know & I Know’.