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  Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter. He is a 12 time winner of the Academy of Country Music Guitarist of the Year Award and a two time winner of the CMA Award Musician of the Year.


...Mason, though the efforts of his mother, connected with first-call steel guitar player Paul Franklin in Nashville, after moving there with his wife following a layoff from his factory job...
...The album begins with a piece in the George Benson tradition called Cayman Moon, tastefully done, though full enough of cliches that it stands a good chance to be played on so-called "lite jazz' commercial radio. Those looking for hot guitar will need to go further into the CD...
...Paying tribute to the Larry Carlton style, including a penchant for Steely Dan-style chord changes, is the following piece, Mellow Midnight. Again, the playing is very classy, especially Mason's solo, while Paul Franklin's steel guitar lurks with hints of Nashville.
   Mason really shows off his stuff on the title track Hot Wired, a great high-energy country-pickin' extravaganza.
  Paul Franklin also puts in a solo on steel guitar that's equally impressive.Mason plays acoustic guitar on two tracks. One is called The First Rule of Thumb, and it goes along at a gently swingy pace that can make it easy to forget the amazing guitar work going on
   The other acoustic guitar piece, My Little Ballerina features Chet Atkins, in a light mellow style typical of some of the material Atkins has been recording of late on his own albums. Atkins puts in a fairly brief but especially pleasing solo on an acoustic guitar that sounds a bit like a Dobro.
   Speaking of Dobro, the current top dog of that instrument, Jerry Douglas, puts in a guest appearance on another barn-burner called Sugarfoot Rag, an old tune by Hark Garland, which is given further bluegrass influence with the addition of fiddler Stuart Duncan of the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Everybody really cooks.
   The album ends with a Western Swing-style tune, a Mason original called Swing with a Sting, which is again handled with great aplomb...

...Hot Wired is Mason's first album under his own name, and as mentioned, on this rather short CD, the guitarist pays tribute to some of his heroes, and blazes in his own country-influenced style -- sometimes both at the same time -- playing in a jazzy mode while a steel guitar wails in the background, reminding everyone that the music is indeed coming from the capital of Tennessee...

...Joining Mason are some other established Music City studio mavens, including pianist Matt Rollings, known for his work with Lyle Lovett. On bass are Glenn Worf and Michael Rhodes. Lonnie Wilson and Eddie Bayers alternate on drums, and Paul Franklin makes a few appearances on steel guitar, sometimes, as mentioned, in an otherwise mellow jazzy context... Copyright 1997 George D. Graham.