Steve Winwood has posted a tribute to his former Traffic bandmate Dave Mason, who died April 19.
“We were deeply saddened to hear of Dave Mason’s passing,” he wrote. “Dave was part of Traffic during its earliest chapter, and played an important role in shaping the band’s 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.”
“Those years remain a special part of the band’s story, and Dave’s contribution to them is not forgotten,” he continued. “His 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.”
Mason 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 “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” but rejoined six months later. He left for a second time after participating in the sessions for 1968’s Traffic and 1969’s Last Exit. It wasn’t voluntary.
In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, Mason recalled a band meeting where Winwood told him that he was out. “I don’t like the way you write,” Mason recalled Winwood saying. “I don’t like the way you sing. I don’t like the way you play. And we don’t want you in the band any more.”
Traffic 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’t 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 reformed for a reunion tour in 1994, but Mason wasn’t invited to participate.
Mason, 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 “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” Instead, he was asked to play bass even though he hadn’t 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 “Feelin’ Alright,” which included Mason and Capaldi. It was their first time sharing a stage since 1971, and the last Traffic performance of any kind.
Less 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. “For somebody to elicit that promise on a deathbed, it’s just fucking bizarre,” Mason said in 2024. “It’s machiavellian.”
That didn’t stop Mason from keeping the Traffic catalog alive. In his final years, he toured under the banner Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam. Nearly every song in the set was a Traffic classic.
