October 8, 2015

-Interview-

Jesse will be on air, live, at 12noon Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, Oct 9.

Click here or the image below, then “listen live”

-US October 2015-

Oct 9 – San Diego CA
Oct 10 – Temecula CA
Oct 11 – Avalon CA
Oct 13 – Albuquerque NM
Oct 15 – Dallas TX
Oct 16 – Austin TX
Oct 17 – Houston TX
Oct 20 – Kansas City MO
Oct 22 – Skokie IL
Oct 23 – Burnsville MN
Oct 24 – Milwaukee WI
Oct 25 – Columbus OH
Oct 26 – Detroit MI
Oct 27 – Kalamazoo MI
Oct 29 – New York NY
Oct 30 – Glenside PA

October 2, 2015

-One World Album Tour-

The tour picks up again next week!
Oct 7 – Tucson AZ 
Oct 8 – Scottsdale AZ
Oct 9 – San Diego CA
Oct 10 – Temecula CA
Oct 11 – Avalon CA
…full dates and details in the tour section!

September 19, 2015

-US Fall 2016 Tour-

To celebrate the official release of the album in the US, Jesse’s One World Album Tour returns in October with eighteen dates!  www.jessecook.com/tour
Oct 7 – Tucson AZ 
Oct 8 – Scottsdale AZ
Oct 9 – San Diego CA
Oct 10 – Temecula CA
Oct 11 – Avalon CA
Oct 13 – Albuquerque NM
Oct 15 – Dallas TX
Oct 16 – Austin TX
Oct 17 – Houston TX
Oct 20 – Kansas City MO
Oct 22 – Skokie IL
Oct 23 – Burnsville MN
Oct 24 – Milwaukee WI
Oct 25 – Columbus OH
Oct 26 – Detroit MI
Oct 27 – Kalamazoo MI
Oct 29 – New York NY
Oct 30 – Glenside PA

September 18, 2015

-One World-

Jesse’s tour for the chart-topping One World album starts again in Canada (British Columbia)…  upcoming September dates below, visit the tour section for links and details! www.jessecook.com/tour

Sep 19 – Charlie White Theatre – Sidney
Sep 21 – Sagebrush Theatre – Kamloops
Sep 22 – Charles Bailey Theatre – Trail
Sep 23 – Key City Theatre – Cranbrook
Sep 25 – Vanier Hall – Prince George
Sep 26 – Clarke Theatre Foundation – Mission
Sep 27 – Qualicum Beach Civic Centre – Qualicum Beach*
Sep 28 – HUB Theatre – Chilliwack

(*tickets for Qualicum Beach ONLY available at two Mulberry Bush Book Store locations:  250-248-1193 and 250-752-9722)

…the US tour starts in October!

August 27, 2015

-News-

Check out the press-release for Jesse’s upcoming tour-dates!  This is in advance of the US tour, but please be sure to visit the tour section (here) for the full and very extensive list of concerts all across North America!

Global guitarist Jesse Cook conjures the sounds of

modern day Constantinople for the U.S. market

World music artist focuses on American audiences with the official launch of his “One World” album and concert tour while his PBS special continues to power stations’ pledge drives.

New York City, New York (27 August 2015): Constantinople, the ancient melting pot mecca intersecting  Europe, India, Middle East and Africa, serves as the inspiration for the adventurous sonic explorations of “One World,” the ninth studio album from world music guitarist Jesse Cook.

Joining primal instrumentation from all over the globe with rhythmic loops, textured audioscapes and technological experimentation, Cook’s eOne Music release, which debuted at No. 1 on the jazz and world music charts in the Canadian’s homeland, will receive it’s official U.S. release on October 2 tied to the launch of the first leg of the American “One World” concert tour (scheduled to play 18 cities this fall beginning October 7 in Tucson, Arizona).  Riding off to radio stations early next month is the exotic call-and-response frolic “Taxi Brazil.”

Juno Award winner and 11-time nominee Cook composed and produced “One World,” an aural journey showcasing the Paris-born, Toronto-reared artist’s cultured cornucopia of rumba, flamenco, jazz, gypsy, pop and classical guitar parlance, rife with runs and riffs demonstrating dazzlingly dexterity. Strumming and plucking mystic melodies, evocative harmonies and contemplative meditations, Cook places his guitar on “One World” amidst carefully-crafted instrumental beds that just may be the most experimental of his career. He incorporated more modern technology to create interesting beats and inventive sounds, placing them side by side with traditional instruments that have been around for centuries.

“One could imagine musicians from all over the world meeting in a marketplace in Constantinople and the mad, beautiful music that would have ensued. What would that have sounded like?” Cook pondered. “I didn’t want my crossroads to be limited to only traditional instruments; I wanted music from different time periods represented as well. Now you have ancient instruments like the Armenian duduk or the Arabic oud (the ancestor to the guitar), meeting record scratching, industrial textures, sample and loop technology. That is the world I wanted my guitar to venture through. I’ve always been interested in music technology, but on this record I gave it a wider scope.”

Cook is not afraid to admit that some of the brazen alchemy came at the curious hands of his seven-year-old son’s exuberant button pushing. “He was often hanging around the studio while I was working. Like most kids his age, he was constantly asking if he could play on the computer. And like most parents, I would say no, fearing that he might blow up all my expensive recording equipment. But kids are persistent and I finally relented, leaving him to experiment. Later, when I came back, I was amazed by what he’d found. There were all sorts of loops happening, time stretching, texture and sample libraries I’ve never seen before. At that point, I did what any good father would do: I shooed him out of the chair and grabbed my guitar.”

Cook will support “One World” in the States with multiple concert treks, the first of which takes place this autumn followed by a second swing early next year and a third leg slated for spring 2016. His popularity as a captivating performer has multiplied exponentially in recent years bolstered by a couple of PBS concert specials, including “Jesse Cook: Live at the Bathurst Theatre,” which is currently airing on television stations across the nation as part of pledge drives.

www.jessecook.com/tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmF69DqUyOs

August 24, 2015

New Video

“…I shut the door on the country, and the Aveyron, without even meaning to. I simply had no reason to return. That is, until this year…”

Join Jesse on a beautiful and personal journey to the land of his earliest childhood memories:  the Aveyron in France.

Filmed and edited by Jesse himself (with great assistance from his wife), this video portrays his love affair with a quiet and forgotten part of the world.

Please feel free to enjoy, subscribe, and share.

July 25, 2015

Official Video

Jesse filmed, recorded, and edited his own official video to Shake, the single from his chart-topping recent release One World.

The video showcases Jesse’s visual artistic talents as well as his renown musical ability… click below to enjoy – feel free to like and share!

July 20, 2015

PBS Pledge Drives

The following US PBS affiliates are airing Jesse Cook performances!

As part of their fund-raising packages, these stations will be offering CDs, DVDs and EXCEPTIONAL seating for Jesse’s upcoming local concerts!

Set your DVR, tune in, and tell your friends:  share the news and appreciation of great music!  If your local station is not listed, please send them an email and request Jesse Cook for their next pledge drive event… thanks for the support!

Columbus OH – WOSU
Aug 8 – 9:30pm
Aug 9 – 11pm
Aug 11 – 8pm
Aug 12 – 11pm

July 8, 2015

Les 2 et 3 juillet derniers, Jesse Cook se présentait pour une série de concerts au Festival de Jazz de Montréal. C’était la troisième fois que j’assistais à un de ses spectacles et, comme à chaque fois, j’en suis ressortie émerveillée par le talent et le charisme de ce guitariste de renommée internationale.

Jesse Cook ne rate jamais la cible : à chaque concert, le public est conquis, ravi, accroché à chacune des notes –parfois trop rapides pour les compterqu’il réussit à extraire de sa guitare flamenco. Il tient littéralement le public dans sa main, agrémentant le spectacle de quelques anecdotes racontées à moitié en français et à moitié en anglais –ce qui donne parfois lieu à des malentendus hilarants.

Le tour du monde en musique

Disons-le tout de suite, le guitariste ontarien sait comment faire lever un show, et il l’a encore prouvé le 2 juillet. Mélangeant adroitement anciennes nouvelles pièces, il trouve le moyen de nous faire taper des mains à chaque chanson ou presque, nous entraînant littéralement dans un tour du monde musical avec ses rythmes inspirés de Colombie, d’Espagne ou du Moyen-
Orient. Revenant seul après l’entracte, il fait entrer un par un ses musiciens, au fil des morceaux, dans un crescendo qui atteint son paroxysme avec l’arrivée du batteur Chendy Leon et l’envolée dramatique de Luna Llena, un classique de son deuxième album, Gravity.

C’est à partir de là que le spectacle prend vraiment son envol : lançant l’iconique Mario Takes A Walk (que vous pouvez entendre ci-dessus) par une longue introduction qui nous laisse sur le bout de nos sièges (ou plutôt, sur la pointe des pieds, puisque nous étions déjà debout), Cook ne ménage pas ses effets, et enchaîne les pièces à un rythme infernal, sans une seconde de pause. Quarante-cinq minutes qui ont passé comme l’éclair.

Bien sûr, il y a eu rappel. J’attendais ce moment avec impatience, parce qu’à chaque fois, Jesse Cook et ses acolytes débranchent leurs micros et jouent quelques chansons a cappella, dont la merveilleuse “Fall At Your Feet”, que Chris Church, violoniste et homme à tout faire du groupe (il joue de trois ou quatre instruments), chante à la perfection. Cette fois, nous avons eu droit en plus à la pétillante “Cecilia”, reprise de Simon & Garfunkel, sur laquelle nous avons chanté joyeusement. Et, grande nouveauté, surtout : Jesse Cook lui-même a chanté! En trois fois, je ne l’avais jamais vu fredonner la moindre mélodie. La surprise était totale –et agréable!

Vous l’aurez compris depuis longtemps, j’ai été une fois de plus conquise par Jesse Cook et par ses exceptionnels musiciens –notamment Nicholas Hernandez, dont vous pouvez admirer le talent dans la vidéo ci-dessous. Si jamais vous avez l’occasion, écoutez donc une ou deux pièces, vous serez surpris. Les pièces instrumentales, pour Jesse Cook, ne sont jamais ennuyeuses -tout comme les concerts. 😉

– Anne-Sophie, Lesrockalouves.com

July 3, 2015

Canadian acoustic guitar viruoso Jesse Cook. ALLEN MCINNIS / MONTREAL GAZETTE

When Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook stepped on the Maison Symphonique stage on Thursday night, there was a brief moment of confusion among audience members: either an imposter had sauntered in or his characteristic wavy long locks had been trimmed.

Any and all doubts were quickly erased when Cook’s equally famed fingers began dancing on the strings of his acoustic guitar. It was clear there would be no Samson moment for the 50-year-old.

“If you’re not sure, it’s me. I cut my hair,” the affable Cook said after leaning back and letting his fingers do the talking for an introductory song. Before continuing, he took a few seconds to admire the four-year-old venue for the first time. “It has that new car smell,” he joked, before asking everyone to “not go formal” on him. They did not; this was the sort of energized Jazz Fest crowd that wanted to clap, and they did so with Cook’s full encouragement.

Cook is firmly entrenched as a jazz fest favourite, and his comfortable Spanish guitar-meets-world music formula was familiar to everyone present. He was almost apologetic about playing songs from his latest album, One World, even though they don’t represent a departure from his previous works. As far as surprises go, he performed one song solo with looping pedals, and presented it as a new technique he’s getting acquainted with.

“I spent two and a half years tinkering with loops,” he said in reference to One World. Otherwise, with a clean setup on a capacious stage — even the band’s monitors appeared to be replaced by laptops from my vantage point slightly behind them — Cook and his backing quartet filled the room with reverberating claps and stomps in addition to their drums, violin, two guitars and bass setup.

The drummer switched between regular western percussion, djembes and even a pair of frying pans in an effort to present each song with a different rhythmic identity. At times they contracted their setup even further, with the bandmates huddled around a single microphone or sitting at the front edge of the stage.

Cook was his typically laid-back self, impressing enough with his nimble non-puritanical flamenco guitar playing while never positioning himself as a overbearing virtuoso. It wasn’t a commanding performance emotionally or physically, so much as an unselfish one to allow for greater audience participation. The gambit paid off, based on how often the crowd rose from their seats and clapped along in unison.

Cook mostly went for humour when talking to the audience, although he saved his longest and most informative preamble, about Andalusian music pioneer Ziryab, for an older song of his: Baghdad from 1995’s Tempest.

The three covers Cook chose for his encore were as crowd-pleasing as they were uninspired. Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” was an easy way to get the audience to resume clapping, while their stripped down version of “Fall At Your” Feet by Crowded House was done without microphones to a respectfully quiet room. The mystifying set closer, neo-folk turkey “Hey Ho” by soon-to-be one-hit wonders The Lumineers, ended the night on a forgettable note.

– The Gazette