Julie Mason

Jazz chanteuse Julie Mason delivers her songs with style, gracefulness, a touch of class and romance. Julie sings with great lyricism and melody. The unadorned environment of piano and bass offered her ample room to experiment and otherwise show off her considerable technique, talent and impressive vocal range – oh and can this diva scat –  wow!

Michael Nettmann, The Bay Chronicle, June 2009

You guys were awesome....Feedback from the evening has been fantastic.
Dr Nicole Bassett, Organizer, Health Excellence Awards, April 2008

Julie Mason is not only a fine jazz singer but also arguably New Zealand’s best female jazz piano player and a recording artist in her own right.
Liam Ryan, Bay Of Plenty Times December 2006

When you put players of this calibre together you are most definitely going to get dynamism plus! Their programme included the fiendishly challenging Ornette Coleman composition “The Blessing” and Chick Corea’s complex “Straight Up and Down”, both brilliantly performed.
 Julie Mason Quintet-“Jazz In June, Omapere,” Northern News June 2006

The Julie Mason Quintet started with a wonderful groove. Her vocals are very smooth and her scatting is incredibly technical. She left the audience wanting more.
“Jazz In June at Omapere” June 2006

 Julie Mason did a stunning vocal exposition on “My Funny Valentine”.
“Miles Of Smiles In Tribute Concert”- Liam Ryan, Bay Of Plenty Times 17 April 2006

Credit must go to Julie Mason for her overall musicianship on this gig: great playing and singing, superb choice of material, polished arrangements, and well chosen musicians who delivered a great opening night for the festival.
Bay Of Plenty Times, Tauranga National Jazz Festival, March 2005

ESTATE (summer) is a marvellously engaging CD by a female jazz artist in her prime, a generous offering of all her gifts, and a must for anyone who loves jazz vocalists.
Review at www.allaboutjazz.com March 2005

Seasoned performer Julie Mason has gained exposure locally, and on the international stage. In this offering her able piano and classic jazz vocals are augmented by local luminaries such as Phil Broadhurst and Frank Gibson to provide a mature, well presented album. This is one CD I’m going to enjoy for some time.
Tim Page, NZ Musician Magazine June/July 2005

Mason shows her command of the straight ahead jazz genre. She is a competent pianist, an engaging interpreter of lyrics, and unlike a lot of singers is not afraid to improvise.
Rebecca Blundell “Pressing On” Radio NZ September 2005

Guest vocalist Julie Mason created some perfect late-night jazz when accompanied by the sensual saxophone of Brian Smith.
“Tribute To Duke Ellington”- Bay Of Plenty Times Easter 2004

Smooth, silky, sumptuous. Think of any positive adjective you like and it applies to the Julie Mason Quartet. They epitomised the soul of the event- a celebration of the arts, and a stylish night out.
Taranaki Daily News review of Taranaki Arts Festival.

This CD blows me away- much jazzier than Diana Krall
Roger Marbeck, TVNZ’s Good Morning, March 2002

Julie Mason demonstrated her wonderful facility on the piano, accompanying her songs with an enviable ease. Well done, women of jazz!
Christchurch International Jazz Festival, Christchurch Press July 2002

Julie’s piano playing is a delight, from hard-driving up-tempo jazz numbers to beautiful relaxed ballads her touch is sure and innovative.
Matamata Chronicle, August 1999

Mason’s style is more immediately bop-inspired
(a little Garner-ed here and there) but she displayed an expansive palette on one of her own numbers: a sure, clean touch, clear if not hard attack, speed, clarity and defined melodic purpose. She sings well too and handled the lyrics to a brace of jazz standards (“Whisper Not”, “Nica’s Dream” and others) with assurance.
Erik Gerritson, NZ Herald 1999

Recorded live in the studio, (no overdubs; vocals recorded at the same time), Invitation bristles with ideas, humour and warmth. She swings hard when she wants (the infectiously quick “Just One of Those Things”) and delivers a lovely treatment of Sergios Mendes “So Many Stars”.
Graham Reid, NZ Herald 1998

Julie Mason has a relaxed and calming pianistic technique and a beautiful mellow vocal delivery. With main cohorts Andy Brown and Frank Gibson Jnr., Mason creates a variety of swing rhythms whilst handling all vocal duties with aplomb.
Peter Dent, NZ Musician Magazine, 1998

Julie Mason on exquisite jazz vocals and piano on “Keep An Eye On Spring” (“It Could Happen To You”) confirmed her place in the top echelon of women in New Zealand jazz.
‘Kiwi Jazz Summit”- Bay of Plenty Times April 2003

Julie Mason is a passionate improviser with great be-bop phrasing and that rare ability to double her scat lines with piano. Her tone is warm and sensuous in the lower register and her diction exceedingly clear in a Cleo Laine type of way. This is a beautifully recorded mainstream jazz album and deserves to sell many copies.
Steve Cournane, NZ Musician Magazine 2002

…Kept the well-worn standards to a minimum and took the trouble to give a paying crowd of people who knew jazz something substantial to chew on.
NZ Herald August 1994

When she focuses on her impressive writing and playing talents, and has musicians like these to support her, she’s on a real winner. Aesthetically if not financially.
Erik Gerritson NZ Herald August 1992

Mason is a fine pianist, and her singing is sweet and understated, like Blossom Dearie with a voice.               NZ Festival of the Arts, Dominion Post 1992

Julie, you and your team brought a level of professionalism and fun to our opening night, and without this I think the evening just wouldn’t have been what I imagined…. you and your band were outstanding. I look forward to working again with you in the future.
Colleen Keegan, Events Director MICONZ October 2006

Thank you for doing a terrific job last night. The whole night was a great success, and you and your band set the perfect ambience. Our client is absolutely delighted, and “Cheek To Cheek” was an absolute highlight.
Jennifer Austin, Epiphany Ltd. Auckland 26.05.06

An absolutely perfect selection for a very stylish function. Julie adapted her performance beautifully to suit the ambience and format of our function. Would use Julie for every event of this nature- a class act!
Melinda Madigan, General Manager marketing, IGT Australia July 2003

Julie Mason and her musicians were always friendly, helpful and efficient, and the performance of the entire trio was superb.
Toyota N.Z. Ltd.  15.10.01

The Julie Mason Trio was superb at our wedding.
Richard Smith 15.06.01

Phil Broadhurst

Phil Broadhurst’s exquisite piano technique, full of glorious subtleties and complexities and overflowing with ideas, is evident in his brilliant solos. His sensitive accompaniment to Julie’s vocals is never overpowering and always sympathetic. Here is a jazz pianist whose improvisations are a joy and pure with subtle space – a fine illustration of his imagination.

Michael Nettmann, The Bay Chronicle, June 2009

The Road Ahead was released in 2003 with all but 3 tracks written by Phil. The CD features some of the best NZ jazz musicians who are given room to solo extensively. The CD includes a piece called “The Massey Suite” which is a reference to the Massey University campuses here in New Zealand and moves through solo piano sections to up-tempo, lively group playing. A superb CD that is also well recorded and engineered that captures many of NZ’s finest musicians together on one recording.
Mark Robinson – It’s a Jazz Thing Album of the Week. George FM.

 Food For Thought offers ballads which Sustenance render lightly and always make seem melodically effortless (J.P.J. with a witty coda) and tunes which open doors for solo exploration. Dynes' evocative, windblown and energetic Harbour rewards careful attention and they explore some tricky terrain in Broadhursts' cascading Read and Discard
 Graham Reid, New Zealand Herald

From the early piano trio rendition of Monk’s Hackensack to the rollicking 15-piece blues finale, the defining voice in this concert was that of musical director and pianist Phil Broadhurst...The jewels…were his two pieces from the suite…the pastoral and expansive Auckland and the more urban fusion-sounding Wellington.“Broadhurst’s deft playing and lyrical interpretations added depth to an already challenging programme.
The Great Kiwi Jazz Summit Liam Ryan – Bay of Plenty Times

Superb jazz pianist and MC Phil Broadhurst hand-picked top musicians to cover a portion of the vast Ellington oeuvre…Broadhurst’s special composition, Edward, simultaneously celebrates Ellington’s style, along with his original name. This was an early evening highlight…with Broadhurst’s keyboards providing emotional depth
A Tribute To Duke Ellington at the Tauranga Jazz Festival
Liam Ryan – Bay of Plenty Times 2004

In a courageous move the Tauranga Jazz Festival engaged Phil Broadhurst and the Auckland A listers of Jazz to achieve a mission impossible to celebrate the life of the Picasso of jazz…The helpful commentary from Broadhurst provided the audience with interesting contexts for each of the Davis compositions. Among the landmarks in jazz was a debut N.Z. performance of a rare Davis composition Circles featuring Broadhurst and Kim Paterson in fine style.
A Tribute To Miles Davis Liam Ryan – Bay of Plenty Times 2006

With Colin Hemmingsen   - reviews of concerts and CD The Rite of  Swing

Broadhurst’s Higgins is a beautiful ballad with a distinctive melody and a touch of poignancy, and another notable Broadhurst composition is “Santa Margherita” which showcases the pianist’s intuitive swinqing and lyrical runs
Florence Wetzel. allaboutjazz.com

Broadhurst’s Road Ahead ...lifted the somewhat laconic tone to something more robust and adventurous. It offered striking evidence of the pianist’s talent and his sympathy with his colleague.
 Lindis Taylor- Dominion Post

Another highlight was “Broadhurst’s Roadworthy, a tune written specially for the bassoon  
Rebecca Blundell – Dominion Post 2006

Firmly rooted in the sound of contemporary swing, Jazz School stalwarts Colin Hemmingsen and Phil Broadhurst have developed a signature sound which combines Broadhurst’s dense piano chords with Hemmingsen’s deep, tasteful leads on bassoon and saxophone. At times, the group worked like a bebop quartet, trading short solos until a drum break late in the tune. Alternately, particularly on Broadhurst’s ballad “Higgins”, they demonstrated a wonderful ability to build a group sound with many layers of texture and emotion.

Broadhurst penned what were perhaps the best tunes of this set: the aforementioned ballad 'Higgins', a tribute to late drummer Billy Higgins, and the upbeat latin feel of 'Santa Margherita'. The ballad was beautifully rendered by all, beginning with stately triplet arpeggios passed from left hand to right in the lower midrange of the piano…. Both Hemmingsen and Broadhurst subtly stated the melody in their solos, adding the occasional tasteful chromatic run to skilfully link phrases together. 'Margherita', by contrast, was an up-tempo number which incorporated some great bluesy licks and superb melodic runs into its framework.
Tyler Hersey – Scoop website 2006

Julie Mason & the Jazz Divas

Julie Mason & The Jazz Divas were great, earning a standing ovation and encore.
Nelson Jazz Fest 2008-02-05

The Divas of Jazz were pure class, displaying complex jazz harmony and some spectacular improvisational interplay.
Bay Of Plenty Times, March 2005

As good as anything you’ll hear in the States
Christchurch International Jazz Festival, 2006

They were fabulous!
Tauranga National Jazz Festival, April 2007

Jazz Divas Impressive Individually and Together!
Headline, Nelson Daily Mail review 4 January 2008-02-05

Superb choice of material, polished arrangements and well chosen vocalists and backing musicians who provided a great opening night for the festival.
Bay Of Plenty Times, March 2005

Tenderly, one of Vaughan’s standards, was very enticing with its beautiful tight harmonies arranged by Mason.
Nelson Daily Mail 4 January 2008