Blackbird

Bio

Jason Selman is a poet and musician (trumpet) who has been performing on the Montreal arts scene since 1996. As a poet he has published 2 books: "Psychological" (2002) and " The Freedom I Stole" (2008) and co-edited the poetry anthology "Talking Book" (2007).

His current projects include working as part the musical improv collective Kalm Unity and the live Hip Hop band Nomadic Massive. He is also the producer the music and spoken word series "Intimate Sky".

Interview

What  music are you listening to / art are you checking out these days?

I go through a lot of music so I lose track. But if I take a look around: The Mighty Sparrow, the new Q-tip album, The O’Jays, Corey Wilkes, Cannonball Adderley, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Joe Bataan, Celia Cruz, Ray Charles…

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

I think it’s important to vote so that you can have your say in policy making. What’s most important is change and if you want to make things better, you have to either vote and commit to political change in the current system in a real way or make concrete moves with other alternatives. Either way you have work to do.

For you, is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

Absolutely. Art, especially jazz is democracy. When a bunch of free thinking individuals come together and share space, ideas and heart without tearing each other apart, that’s true democracy. That’s what it takes for any artistic organization to last.

Why do you care about the community when is so easy not to?

I care because I am a reflection of my community and things can only be as great as we make them. It’s difficult when you are confronted with pessimism but this too can be dealt with if we try to understand it, because both negative and positive attitudes always have a root. We have to take it to the root.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I look for someone who knows the community they represent. Someone who makes an honest and sincere effort to be connected to things on the ground level. A person who understands people and genuinely cares for them.