{"id":412039,"date":"2026-04-22T16:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412039\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:44:07","slug":"steve-winwood-remembers-dave-mason-his-presence-endures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412039\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Winwood Remembers Dave Mason: ‘His Presence Endures’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Steve Winwood<\/a> has posted a tribute<\/a> to his former Traffic<\/a> bandmate Dave Mason, who died April 19.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe were deeply saddened to hear of Dave Mason\u2019s passing,\u201d he wrote. \u201cDave was part of Traffic during its earliest chapter, and played an important role in shaping the band\u2019s sound and identity during that time. His songwriting, musicianship, and distinctive spirit helped create music that has lasted far beyond its era, and continues to mean so much to listeners around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThose years remain a special part of the band\u2019s story, and Dave\u2019s contribution to them is not forgotten,\u201d he continued. \u201cHis place in that history will always be remembered, and through the music, his presence endures. At this sad time, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and all those who loved him and his music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMason and Winwood formed Traffic in 1967 alongside drummer Jim Capaldi and keyboardist-saxophonist Chris Wood. Mason briefly left the group after the recording of their 1967 debut LP, Mr. Fantasy, which features the timeless classic \u201cDear Mr. Fantasy,\u201d but rejoined six months later. He left for a second time after participating in the sessions for 1968\u2019s Traffic and 1969\u2019s Last Exit. It wasn\u2019t voluntary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a 2024 interview with The Guardian, <\/a>Mason recalled a band meeting where Winwood told him that he was out. \u201cI don\u2019t like the way you write,\u201d Mason recalled Winwood saying. \u201cI don\u2019t like the way you sing. I don\u2019t like the way you play. And we don\u2019t want you in the band any more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTraffic dissolved just a few months later when Winwood was recruited by Eric Clapton to join the supergroup Blind Faith. And when Traffic reconvened in 1970 to record their comeback album John Barleycorn Must Die, Mason wasn\u2019t involved. But he did return for a third and final stint in the summer of 1971 for a mere six concerts. One of them was captured on the live album Welcome to the Canteen. Traffic re-formed for a reunion tour in 1994, but Mason wasn\u2019t invited to participate.<\/p>\n

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\n\tMason, Capaldi, and Winwood finally found themselves together onstage in 2004 when Traffic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Mason wanted to play guitar alongside Winwood on \u201cDear Mr. Fantasy.\u201d Instead, he was asked to play bass, even though he hadn\u2019t touched the instrument in 30 years. Insulted by the request, Mason decided to simply stand offstage for the performance. At the end of the night, however, Mason was allowed to lead an all-star jam on \u201cFeelin\u2019 Alright,\u201d which included Mason and Capaldi. It was their first time sharing a stage since 1971, and the last Traffic performance of any kind.<\/p>\n

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\n\tLess than a year after the Hall of Fame reunion, Capaldi died from stomach cancer. When Mason proposed a Traffic reunion tour to Winwood in 2017, he was told that Capaldi made a request from his deathbed that the group never play again. \u201cFor somebody to elicit that promise on a deathbed, it\u2019s just fucking bizarre,\u201d Mason said in 2024. \u201cIt\u2019s machiavellian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat didn\u2019t stop Mason from keeping the Traffic catalog alive. In his final years, he toured under the banner Dave Mason\u2019s Traffic Jam. Nearly every song in the set was a Traffic classic.\u00a0<\/p>\n