Jesse Cook

September 17, 2012

Jesse Cook’s new album, The Blue Guitar Sessions, is out Sept. 18, and it’s already hit the sweet spot with many listeners, thanks in no small part to CBC Music's exclusive preview stream of the album. The stream is down now, but of course you can get the album yourself from iTunes.

Here are just a few things listeners to our exclusive stream had to say:

KayeIris: “You had me at the first 5 or 6 chords and I was in love by time the first track ended. Dinner waited downstairs so I could listen to all and then I hit replay. Oh my!”

ybg: “Continuing to grow is the mark of a musician who has a grasp of what he wants in his music. A hint of Wiel, a dash of Grappelli and Django, and a wisp of melodies not often heard. Good on ya Jesse.”

And good on ya Jesse Cook for sharing this shuffle playlist with us. He put his MP3 device on shuffle, and told us about the first five songs that popped up.

1. “People Like Me” http://static.music.cbc.ca/MISC/programuploads/itunes/iTunes_buyBtn.gif

K'naan

“It was the lyrics to this song/rap which made me re-evaluate K'naan, moving him from 'extremely talented' to 'brilliant.'”

2. “Ain't No Rest For the Wicked”
Cage the Elephant

“Love the way this song starts out small and groovy, but then gets bigger and bigger.”

3. “A Whiter Shade of Pale”
Procol Harum

“This song hooked me as a kid, I still love it, although I have no idea what he is singing about.”

4. “Taurina”
Duquende

“Just saw Duquende this spring at Koerner Hall. He had the great Jerez guitarist Diego de Morao with him.”

5. “Redemption Song”
Bob Marley

“Bob Marley is one of those artists. Every song he recorded was perfect. Nothing false, nothing extraneous. And his recordings still sound great, even by today's standards.”

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– Li Robbins

September 16, 2012

On his eighth studio album, guitarist Cook steps away from his flamenco default and offers 15 moody, easylistening pieces, supposedly inspired by what he considered the spareness of Adele’s smash, 21. On the surface, the disc has an elevator-music smoothness that sends it receding into the background, but Cook’s relentless precision and perfect tonality on the nylon strings will not be denied. There’s an airy beauty to soft, atmospheric tracks like Diminished and Fields of Blue, with quiet blues (I Put a Spell on You), jazz (Miles Shorter) and bossa nova (Child’s Play) broadening the palette. Add the stirring, delicate interplay between Cook’s instrument and Chris Church’s violin and this aural sketchbook becomes an excursion filled with modest pleasures.

Rating: ***

Podworthy: Midnight

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– Bernard Perusse

August 12, 2012

“JESSE COOK – LIVE IN CONCERT” DEBUTS ON AUGUST 12

Jesse Cook has a full plate with his eighth studio album, The Blue Guitar Sessions, to be released on September 18 in Canada (September 25 in the U.S.); a European tour; a twenty-date national Canadian tour to take place in November/December; and a sixty-date U.S. tour to take place in the new year.  In addition, August will see the airing of a new television special on select Public Television stations in the U.S.

A project that will expose Cook’s extraordinary musicianship to a wider audience, “Jesse Cook – Live in Concert” debuts on Sunday, August 12 on WMHT in Albany, NY at 9:00pm.  Jesse Cook will also make a special appearance on WMHT for an in-studio interview.  Other Public Television stations that will feature in-studio interviews with Jesse Cook include:

• WLVT in Allentown, PA on August 14 at 7:00pm
• CPTV in Hartford, CT on August 14 at 10:00pm
• WQED/WQEX in Pittsburgh, PA on August 15 at 8:00pm
• KBDI in Denver, CO on August 16 at 7:00pm
• KBTC in Tacoma, WA on August 17 at 8:00pm
• WPBA in Atlanta, GA on August 18 at 10:00pm

The sixty-minute concert footage was shot at the Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario in May, introduced at a PBS convention in Denver a few weeks later and rapidly gained momentum amongst programmers at the network stations.  More than thirty Public Television stations have signed on to broadcast the production that begins airing on August 12, 2012 and will continue through to December 2012.

“Jesse Cook – Live in Concert” will air in the following cities in the upcoming months:  WPBA in Atlanta, MD PTV in Maryland, SC Net in South Carolina, KAWE and KAWB in Minneapolis, WGBY in Springfield, KNME in Albuquerque, KBDI in Denver, KAET in Phoenix, KUAT in Tucson, KNPB in Reno, WXEL in West Palm Beach and Miami, KOCE in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, KVCR in Palm Springs, WLVT in Allentown and Philadelphia, WTTW in Chicago, K32EO in Colorado, WTVS in Detroit, KBTC and KCKA in Seattle and Tacoma, WNPT in Nashville, CT PTV in Connecticut, WQED and WQEX in Pittsburgh, KLRN in San Antonio, KAMU in Waco, WMHT in Albany, and Oregon Net in Oregon.

For a sneak peek of “Jesse Cook – Live in Concert”, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcNvRWNzBKY