Lee Mason 'Music By Lee Mason'

Recorded at the dawn of the prolific 70s UK library music boom, Music By Lee Mason was part of the successful Chappell Recorded Music series—produced for television, film, and advertising professionals. Working under the “Lee Mason” alias, Pete Moore used the format to explore a wide palette of sounds: funky rhythm sections, fat horns, bumping bass lines, and catchy melodies that reveal both sophistication and swing.

Across its eleven tracks, the album moves seamlessly between funky grooves, jazzy arrangements, and cinematic moods. “Shady Blues” in particular has become a cult favourite among crate-diggers, its slow-burning groove later sampled by Madlib for the Lootpack track "Answers" featuring Quasimoto, giving the piece new life in the spheres of hip-hop and digging culture.

A prolific composer and orchestrator for television, radio, and film, Pete Moore (1924–2013) worked with the likes of Peggy Lee, Fred Astaire, and Connie Francis, bridging the worlds of orchestral scoring and modern jazz-pop arrangement. Alongside his celebrated commercial work, his contributions to the Chappell Music catalogue exemplify the depth and craft of British library composition during the 1960s and ’70s.

This reissue of Music By Lee Mason has been newly remastered and features exclusive liner notes by Kevin Le Gendre, who provides fresh insight into Moore’s enduring influence of his music. As Le Gendre notes, “Music By Lee Mason is a real digger’s dream. Eleven short pieces full of killer sounds, from a gleaming piano to a rumbling bass via stabbing brass.”

With its sophisticated arrangements, catchy grooves, and unmistakable sense of mood, Music By Lee Mason stands as one of the defining statements of the British library era which Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue for the first time since 1971.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Top Gear 2.48
2. Yorkville 3.01
3. The Hunter 2.45
4. Summer Girl 3.02
5. Free And Easy 2.26
6. Blue Bird 2.21

Side B
1. Big Game 3.20
2. Heat Haze 3.11
3. Hot Pants 3.18
4. Shady Blues 3.45
5. Bootsie 3.14