Winwood Honors Mason’s Lasting Impact on Traffic
Steve Winwood paid tribute to Dave Mason after Mason’s death on April 19, praising his songwriting and his role in shaping Traffic’s early sound. Mason co-founded Traffic in 1967, left and rejoined the band multiple times, and later toured as Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam; their relationship included tensions, such as a 2024 Guardian interview in which Winwood reportedly told Mason he was out of the band. Traffic dissolved when Winwood joined Blind Faith, then reformed without Mason. Mason’s onstage reunion with Winwood and Capaldi at the 2004 Rock Hall induction is noted, as is Capaldi’s death in 2023. Mason continued to keep the Traffic catalog alive in his later years, leaving a lasting mark on classic rock.”,