Toronto (GTA) singer-songwriter, two-time Juno Award nominee, Canadian Reggae Award winner and best-selling author Jason Wilson has released a new video for “Coal Dust Caruso” premiered here at The Sound Cafe – from his recent folk/roots album ‘Ashara’ – in advance of this third single release on April 26, 2024 (Wheel Records/Proper Music Distribution).
Jason Wilson & Ashara are also set for Ontario dates this spring in Stouffville on April 27 and in Timmins (for dinner and a show) on May 3 and 4, where their special guest will be renowned UK bagpiper Ali Hutton (one of the winners of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Duo).
“Coal Dust Caruso” – single release date; Friday, April 26, 2024 – was produced by Jason Wilson and recorded in Ontario, Canada at Valley Road Studio, Stouffville and Canterbury Studios, Toronto and was mastered by Mars Giammarco at Red Egg Studio, Bolton. Wilson performs lead vocals, acoustic guitar and piano, plus Laurel Tubman on vocals, Marcus Ali on Irish flute, Carl Harvey on guitar, Vince Reel on drums and percussion, Michael Shapinko on bass and Patrice Barbanchon on trumpet.
Jason Wilson states, “With this album ‘Ashara,’ I chose to explore the breadth and depth of my Ayrshire roots. There is a sequential arc to the album in that each song represents a season of one’s life. The project was kick-started when I began to digitize my father’s amazing 8mm films, which he began taking in Scotland in 1960. And the first track ‘Coal Dust Caruso’ is about working-class life and wanting something better. It is my memories mixed with my dad’s films, mixed with what I know of Ayrshire, going back hundreds of years.”
ONTARIO DATES
Jason Wilson & Ashara – Featuring Wilson on vocals, acoustic guitar and piano, joined by legendary guitarist Carl Harvey, saxophonist Marcus Ali, vocalist Laurel Tubman, drummer Vince Reel and Michael Shapinko on bass. Special guest – UK bagpiper Ali Hutton.
Stouffville – April 27 – Nineteen on the Park
A Hometown Concert!
Lebovic Centre for Arts & Entertainment – Nineteen on the Park Theatre, 19 Civic Ave, Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON, L4A 1G5.
Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
$25.00 - $29.00
Timmins – May 3 & 4 – Timmins Museum, National Exhibition Centre
Dinner and a show!
Timmins Museum, National Exhibition Centre, 325 Second Avenue, Timmins, ON, P4N 8A4.
Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, 2024. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. / Show at 7:30 p.m.
$45.00
Available at Timmins Museum, 1-705-360-2617.
‘Ashara’ (the album) was released on Friday, September 29, 2023 on digital, CD and vinyl formats via Wheel Records/Proper Music Distribution. ‘Ashara’ (number ten in Arabic, also “beautiful peace” and “ash tree”) is Wilson’s 10th album release.
Jason Wilson & Ashara (the group) features Wilson on vocals, acoustic guitar and piano, joined by legendary guitarist Carl Harvey, saxophonist Marcus Ali, vocalist Laurel Tubman, drummer Vince Reel and Michael Shapinko on bass. The group also includes a rotating cast of award-winning Scottish trad musicians; Fiddler Jack Smedley, Highland piper Ali Hutton, accordionist John Somerville and special guest, Scottish-based Jamaican songstress Subrina (Ibrina) Ward. He is the protégé of renowned keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and has performed and recorded with UB40 (he is the cousin of Michael Virtue), Sly & Robbie, Ernest Ranglin, Pee Wee Ellis, Ron Sexsmith, Amanda Marshall, Alanis Morissette, The Mighty Sparrow, Percy Sledge, Brinsley Forde (Aswad), Dick Gaughan and Messenjah.
Past album highlights include Juno nominated ‘Jonah’ in 2000 with band Jason Wilson & Tabarruk and Juno-nominated and Canadian Reggae Music Award-winning solo ‘The Peacemaker's Chauffeur’ in 2008. See full list of album releases below.
Also an award-winning author of nine books, Wilson recently won The Ontario Historical Society’s 2021-22 Joseph Brant Award for ‘King Alpha’s Song in a Strange Land: The Roots and Routes of Canadian Reggae.’
Wilson completed his PhD in 2013 and is an adjunct-professor of history at the University of Guelph. He has been a recurring historical expert on various television programmes and documentaries that have aired on CBC, Discovery, ESPN, National Geographic, NBCSN, TSN and UKTV.
Previously – all on Wilson’s Wheel Records – he has released albums including, 1994’s ‘Tabarruk’ by Tabarruk, plus ‘Dark Corners’ (1998), ‘Jonah’ (2000, Juno Award nominee) and ‘dREaD & BLUE: A Canadiana Suite’ (2004) by Jason Wilson & Tabarruk, and in 2008, ‘The Peacemaker's Chauffeur’ by Jason Wilson (Juno Award nominee and Canadian Reggae Music Award winner), ‘The Lion Rampant’ in 2013 and ‘Kailyard Tales’ in 2018 by Wilson and Swarbrick, Wilson’s ‘Perennials’ in 2016, ‘Sumach Roots’ in 2019 and ‘Ashara’ in 2023.
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