Toronto, ON-based multi-media artist Jason Wilson‘s catalogue reissue series via Wheel Records/Proper Music Distribution continues today with 2000’s JONAH. JONAH was recorded with his band Tabarruk and nominated for a JUNO Award for Best Reggae Recording.
The 12-track collection is based loosely on the biblical story of Jonah and the whale, and its moral lesson to examine the consequences of our life choices and take appropriate action where necessary.
Check out “Forgiveness” below and find out more about Jason via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Pleased to meet you. The bio tells me I’m a 2x Juno Awards Nominee, Canadian Reggae Music Award Winner, and a bestselling author from Downsview, Ontario. That sounds about right.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I’ve been a reggae musician for *gulp* forty years now, so most of my songs usually begin there. I do, however, manage to work in some jazz sensibilities, as well as some threads from the Scottish and English folk music traditions. Thematically, the vast majority of my songs are written through the lens of the historian; they are often aimed at rendering a particular time or event that occurred in Canadian history.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
As everyone knows, it’s so hard to safely play during you know what. That said; there are some sweet shows coming up in 2021, including a return to the UK and our first ever visit to Bermuda in the spring.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Difficult choice, as I’m sure it would be for any artist, but if forced (at least today), I would have to say ‘Your Love Shines a Light For Me’ from The Peacemaker’s Chauffeur album. It features the incredible Jamaican outfit The Fab 5 (Johnny Nash, Rita Marley, et al), and is a good example of how I blend the historical (in this case “war” writ large) over a sweet reggae groove.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/artists?
I’m really digging our First Nations artists such as Gabe Gaudet, Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie, and Tanya Tagaq these days. And big up RaLion for hitting number one on the ReggaEH! Chart this month!