JESSE COOK (1964)

Jesse Arnaud Cook (november 28, 1964) is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, Acoustic Guitar Player’s Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has recorded on the EMI, E1 Music and Narada labels and has sold over 1.5 million records worldwide.

Jesse Cook spent the first few years of his life moving amongst Paris, Southern France and Barcelona. Back at home, he continued his studies in classical and jazz guitar at Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music, York University, and Berklee College of Music in the United States. He has often quipped that he later attempted to unlearn it all while immersing himself in the oral traditions of gypsy music.

After the independent 1995 release in Canada of his debut album, Tempest, he played at the 1995 Catalina Jazz Festival; shortly afterwards, Tempest entered the American Billboard charts at No. 14.

Cook has recorded ten studio albums, five live DVDs and has traveled the world exploring musical traditions that he has blended into his style of rumba flamenco.

In 2011, Cook began filming, directing, and editing his own music videos with the release of Virtue. He has since directed, filmed, and edited eight music videos, 16 episodes of Friday Night Music, and produced, edited, and mixed the PBS Concert Special Jesse Cook, Beyond Borders.

Recordings by Jesse Cook you can hear at Instrumentals Forever:

Air
Azul
Baghdad
Breathing Below Surface
Breeze From Saintes Maries
Brio
Byzantium Underground
Cascada
Dance Of Spring
Gipsy
Gravity
Into The Dark
Mario Takes A Walk
On Walks The Night
Paloma
Rattle And Burn
Red
Surrender
Switchback
Tempest
That’s Right!
Toca Orilla
Waiting For Tide