Jason Collett is a Toronto-based Canadian singer-songwriter. He has released six solo studio albums, and is a former member of

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the othe ...

. His latest album, ''Song & Dance Man'', was released in February, 2016.

Early life

Collett was born in

Bramalea, Ontario Bramalea (''Bram-a-lee'') is a large suburban district in the City of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Bramalea was created as an innovative "new town", and developed as a separate community from the city. Located in the former Chinguacousy Town ...

, a Greater Toronto Area suburb. He began writing songs at a young age to escape the boredom of his suburban life, and cites

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the Ni ...

and

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Lazy Grace with Kathryn Rose and

Kersti McLeod Kersti is mainly an Estonian feminine given name. People named Kersti include: * Kersti Bergroth (1886–1975), Finnish author and playwright * Kersti Börjars (born 1960), Swedish linguistics scholar * Kersti Heinloo (born 1976), Estonian ac ...

, performing every Monday at Toronto’s Spadina Hotel at the popular indie music gathering, Radio Mondays, alongside

The Weakerthans The Weakerthans are an award-winning and Juno-nominated Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive. History The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manito ...

and artists on the record label Arts & Crafts, who would perform and write songs together. Collett has mentioned how Radio Mondays were great community-building events, with five or six artists on stage at a time. Around 2000, he was a part of the short-lived

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

group Bird, of which Andrew Cash and

Hawksley Workman Hawksley Workman (Born Ryan Corrigan, March 4, 1975) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full-length albums throughout his career. A mul ...

were also members. Bird released one album, 2000’s ''

Chrome Reflection ''Chrome Reflection'' is an album released in 2000 by Bird, a one-off band consisting of Jason Collett, Andrew Cash and Hawksley Workman. The album also featured contributions from Lenni Jabour, Josh Finlayson, Gavin Brown, Kevin Fox, Derrick B ...

''.

Broken Social Scene

It was his work with

that allowed Collett to give up woodworking and become a full-time musician. Collett became a member of Broken Social Scene, serving as one of their guitarists, after the band’s album ''

You Forgot It In People ''You Forgot It in People'' is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene, released on October 15, 2002. It was the band's commercial breakthrough. ''You Forgot It in People'' features intricate, experimental producti ...

''. Collett was eventually convinced by

Kevin Drew Kevin Drew (born September 9, 1976) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene. He was also part of the lesser-known KC Accidental, which con ...

to join the band once they moved from a strictly instrumental band into one that wrote their own songs – "Digphilly". Though Collett took a break from touring with Broken Social Scene in the fall of 2005 to pursue his solo career and spend time with his family, Collett has made many musical connections through the band. His 2005 album, '' Idols of Exile'', produced by Howie Beck, featured many prominent Canadian artists. Broken Social Scene’s

Leslie Feist Leslie Feist (born 13 February 1976), known mononymously as Feist, is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, performing both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. Feist launched her solo mu ...

and Brendan Canning all contributed, as did members of bands Stars and Metric.

Solo work

Collett has released six solo albums. In 2001 he released '' Bitter Beauty''; in 2002 it was ''Motor Motel Love Songs''. In 2005, he released '' Idols of Exile'', his first on his current record label, Arts & Crafts; it was the same label to sign Broken Social Scene. Jason's '' Here's to Being Here'' was released in February 2008 and is different from ''Idols of Exile''. Instead of a group effort, with many collaborating artists, Collett decided to focus on making an album that was meant to be played live. Collett tours under his own name with backing band The Dark Horse. In February 2008, Collett added Gregory McDonald, who plays keyboards with Sloan, and Jeremy Little, a bass player, to his touring band. Formerly touring with backing band Paso Mino, made up of members Robbie Drake,

Afie Jurvanen Afie Jurvanen (born April 28, 1981), known by his stage name Bahamas, is a Canadian musician. Early life Jurvanen was born in Toronto and raised in Barrie, Ontario. He is of Finnish ancestry. Career Jurvanen taught himself guitar. He worked ...

, Mike O'Brien and Michael P. Clive, Collett’s band has undergone many changes in recent years. For Collett's Wood Wires and Whiskey tour in Autumn 2008, the band consisted of Robbie Drake and Mike O'Brien, as well as newcomers Carlin Nicholson (also a member of Toronto acts

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

and the 68's) and Neil Quin (also a member of Toronto acts Zeus, Major Grange and The Sexy Moving Parts). Zeus played as Collett's backing band for many tours as late as 2016. In 2009, Jason Collett took part in an interactive documentary series called '' City Sonic''. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had him reflecting on his longtime relationship with

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...

. Collett's fourth solo studio album, '' Rat a Tat Tat'' (produced by O'Brien and Nicholson), was released in March 2010. His firth solo studio album, ''Reckon'' was released in September 2012. It follows the perspective of different lives in 2012 while striking upon issues dealing with the economic crisis, corporate bailouts, and dealing with the stress of it all. Collett hosted The Courtyard Revue at Luminato Festival in June 2016 in Toronto. He released his new, and sixth, album, ''Song And Dance Man'' on February 5, 2016. In 2018, he contributed the song "Sensitive Man" to the compilation album ''

The Al Purdy Songbook ''Al Purdy Was Here'' is a Canadian documentary film, released in 2015."Canadian poet Al Purdy inspires songs by Jason Collett, Sarah Harmer and more"
'' Now'', January 22, 2019.

Personal life

Collett has lived in many neighbourhoods in Toronto, from Kensington to the Ossington and Bloor areas. Collett has been eating organic food since the mid-1990s and makes an effort to ensure that all the food on his tour bus is organic. Jason is also very politically involved. He is a member of Canada’s

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

and performed at an NDP kick-off rally in Toronto during the fall 2008 election. At a recent show at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

, Collett expressed his displeasure for Canadian Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

. He also brought a petition to get Canadian citizen

Omar Khadr Omar Ahmed Said Khadr ( ar, عمر أحمد سعيد خضر; born September 19, 1986) is a Canadian citizen who at the age of 15 was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U ...

released from the Guantanamo Bay detention centre where he had been kept for some time.

Discography

* 2000: ''

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* 2001: '' Bitter Beauty'' * 2002: ''Motor Motel Love Songs'' * 2005: '' Idols of Exile'' * 2008: '' Here's to Being Here'' * 2010: '' Rat a Tat Tat'' * 2010: '' Pony Tricks'' * 2012: '' Reckon/Essential Cuts'' * 2016: ''

Song and Dance Man ''Song and Dance Man'' is a children's picture book written by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Published in 1988 by Knopf Books, the book is about a grandfather who tells his grandchildren about his adventures on the stage. G ...

'' * 2022: ''Head Full of Wonder''

References

External links

Jason Collett's official site
on Arts & Crafts
CBC Radio 3 Page on Jason CollettSloppy fun: An interview with Jason Collett (Nov 3, 2008) R4NT MagazineSet of live videos
an
mp3 bootleg
a
scheduletwo.comJason Collett
at Last.fm
Interview with Jason Collett at Bar Hop Sessions
fro
Glide MagazineJason Collett performs at a New Democratic Party eventCity Sonic: Jason Collett Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collett, Jason Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian rock singers Canadian country singer-songwriters Musicians from Brampton Musicians from Toronto Canadian indie rock musicians Arts & Crafts Productions artists Broken Social Scene members 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists Canadian alternative country singers Canadian male guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers