Moment of youth

>> Young, Gifted & Black organizer Kevin George talks about the local stars of the future

GIFT GIVERS: Kevin George (centre) with
performers Sho Samuel and Jason Selman

By SCOTT C

Community organizer Kevin George remembers very well just how Montreal’s Young, Gifted & Black talent showcase came into existence. The CLSC St-Henri worker recalls a time back in 2003 when four young black men were killed in the span of four months, leaving the Little Burgundy/St-Henri community feeling helpless and hopeless. While driving in his car one day, listening to Donny Hathaway’s “Young, Gifted and Black,” George came up with a concept that would focus attention on the community’s growing pool of positive, young talent, and planned to stage it most fittingly at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall. With the support of then-Reverend Daryl Gray, of Union United Church, YG&B was born, and now in its fourth year, this platform for music, drama and dance has planted its flag firmly on the local cultural landscape.

Mirror: This event is in its fourth year, so isn’t it already a Montreal institution?

Kevin George: Well, everyone is talking about how it has to be an annual thing forevermore! I agree with that. It really should be, because there’s a need for it, and there are so many young and talented people doing great things in the city that you don’t often hear about. It’s great to have a forum and stage to provide for that kind of talent and those kinds of gifts. Black History Month is an excellent time to do it too, because we can emphasize blackness and not have others feel threatened. I wanted to gauge the level of support for something like this and right now, it’s definitely something that the community wants and needs.

M: Have you seen any significant changes in the way things unfold from year to year?

KG: The first year was just a show during Black History Month, and by the second year, the performers really understood the context a bit better. They were producing original works just for the show, with songs and spoken word, and they were coming with inspiration to the show. I can see the evolution of that, because each year it gets stronger and stronger.

Oscar material

M: Who have you got on the bill this year that we should look out for?

KG: They’re all very gifted in their own right, like a young singer we have performing named Khatalia. She’s 11 years old and will be gracing this kind of stage for the very first time. The show really provides a balance between people like Khatalia and someone like Jason Selman, who’s a graduate of Concordia University’s department of music. He’s doing great things as a brilliant poet and a great trumpet player with a beautiful message. If you come to the show, you’ll see there’s a lot to discover, maybe even the next Oscar Peterson.

M: Do you have some sort of audition process that takes place, or do you have a nose for searching out young talent?

KG: During the course of the year, I try to check a lot of people and events out, just to see what’s going on, but I think that format has to change because I can’t do that anymore! (laughs) We’re going to have to start having auditions because there’s so much interest, and we can’t do things the way we’ve done them in the past.

M: You mean where everyone that comes out is in the show?

KG: (laughs) Yes. There are too many people that want to be on the slate, and we want to be able to bring the best show we can to the audience.

M: I understand that the focus of the show is African Kings and Queens, so do you table the theme with the performers, once you know who’ll be taking the stage?

KG: Yes. They go off individually and do their thing and we see what they come up with. People get really involved because this is who they were, who they are and who they’re going to be, so it’s truly inspiring to watch the whole production come together.

Young, Gifted & Black featuring Jason Selman,
Spaicy, 2Marvelous, Khatalia, Shogun and more
at Oscar Peterson Concert Hall on Saturday,
Feb. 2, 8 p.m., $20, all ages