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Jesse Cook

Nighttown, Cedar Road Cleveland
December 15, 2009

Jesse Cook
Tuesday, December 15
7 & 9 PM
$20.

Jesse Cook Musicians often speak of influences and for Juno award winning guitarist Jesse Cook it is not so much one individual that holds a special place in his heart but a region in southern France known as the Camargue.

It was here in Arles that Cook's father, a retired film director, lived the last ten years of his life. It's where Cook spent many summers, wandering the streets among the Gypsies who inhabit the area, soaking up the atmosphere and listening to the likes of Nicolas Reyes, lead singer of the flamenco group Gipsy Kings, who just happened to live next door.

Born in Paris in 1964, Cook first picked up a toy guitar at the age of three desperately trying to mimic the sounds of guitarist Manitas de Plata who lived in the Camargue. This Gypsy guitar legend, made famous by his friendship with Picasso, would have an enormous impact on Cook from a very young age. Additionally he would study classical guitar in Toronto where he spent most of his formative years after moving there from France.

Informal jam sessions at his father's house and at the annual Gypsy festival in nearby Saintes Maries de la Mer helped hone his skills. Between Arles and his mother's French farmhouse, Toronto seemed a world away. There he continued his studies in classical and jazz guitar at some of North America's most prestigious music schools, then attempted to unlearn it all while immersing himself in the oral traditions of Gypsy music. This unusual dichotomy paid dividends in his wide range of musical tastes. It is clearly and continually reflected in his passion for exploration and fusion, which has helped develop the sound and confidence he exudes on stage today.

Since then, Cook, has recorded seven critically acclaimed studio albums and traveled the world exploring musical traditions that he has blended into his style of rumba flamenco.

In 2001 Cook won his first Juno Award in the Best Instrumental Album category for Free Fall. Again, he was nominated in 2008 for two Juno Awards, for his 2007 release Frontiers (World Music Album of the Year) and for the incredible DVD One Night at the Metropolis (Music DVD of the Year), which captures a spectacular concert during the 2006 Montreal Jazz Festival.

In the US, single Café Mocha, off of the Frontiers album, rose to #5 on the R&R Smooth Jazz Chart and continues to shine on the retail charts - it reached #2 on the Top Ten Jazz singles downloaded on iTunes in May 2009 as well as #3 on Walmart's Top 100 Jazz downloads. Cook has also won silver as Best Flamenco Guitarist by Acoustic Guitar magazine Player's Choice Awards in February 2009, second only to Paco de Lucia.

Currently Jesse Cook is touring North America with his Quartet in support of his new CD "The Rumba Foundation". Don't miss the exciting Flamenco guitar of Jesse Cook and his group live at Nighttown on Tuesday, December 15th at 7 & 9 PM.

For additional info, you may visit this website: http://www.jwpjazz.com

Jesse Cook
Nighttown, Cedar Road Cleveland
December 15, 2009

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