Jesse Cook
{{Short description|Canadian guitarist}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jesse Cook
| image = Practicing in Prince George.jpg
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Jesse Arnaud Cook
| birth_place = Paris, France
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|11|28}}
| origin = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| genre = New flamenco, world music, ethno jazz
| occupation = Musician, composer
| instrument = Classical guitar
| years_active = 1995–present
| website = {{URL|www.jessecook.com}}
}}
Jesse Arnaud Cook (born 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.{{cite web|title=Montalvo Arts Center Jesse Cook|url=http://montalvoarts.org/events/jesse_cook_2015a/|website=montalvoarts.org|publisher=Montalvo Arts Center|access-date=26 July 2015|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141318/http://montalvoarts.org/events/jesse_cook_2015a/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |last1=Fischer |first1=Sophia |title=Groove to Jesse Cook's Upbeat Flamenco Tunes |url=https://newsroom.pepperdine.edu/university/2015/01/groove-jesse-cook%E2%80%99s-upbeat-flamenco-tunes |website=Pepperdine |access-date=12 June 2018 |date=26 January 2015 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613014804/https://newsroom.pepperdine.edu/university/2015/01/groove-jesse-cook%E2%80%99s-upbeat-flamenco-tunes |url-status=dead }}{{cite web| title=Conversation with Jesse Cook| date=25 May 2015| url=https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2015/05/25/conversation-jesse-cook| access-date=4 September 2019| archive-date=4 September 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904174939/https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2015/05/25/conversation-jesse-cook| url-status=dead}}
Life and career
Cook was born November 28, 1964, in Paris, France, to Canadian photographer and filmmaker John Cook and Canadian television director and producer Heather Cook.{{cite web|title=Jesse Cook Boulder Theater |url=http://www.bouldertheater.com/event/jesse-cook |website=bouldertheater.com |publisher=Boulder Theater |access-date=26 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092500/http://www.bouldertheater.com/event/jesse-cook |archive-date= 4 March 2016 }} He was raised in Toronto, Canada.
Cook studied classical and jazz guitar at Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music, York University, and Berklee College of Music in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.berklee.edu/bt/old_issues/contents/spring1997.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414164103/http://www.berklee.edu/bt/old_issues/contents/spring1997.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }} He has often quipped {{Cite web |url=https://citizenfreak.com/artists/93312-cook-jesse |title=Cook, Jesse |website=citizenfreak.com/ |date=n.d. |access-date=May 27, 2025}} that he later attempted to unlearn it all while immersing himself in the oral traditions of Roma 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.{{Cite web |url=https://jazz.fm/jesse-cook-interview-every-day-is-a-gift/|title=For Jesse Cook, Every Day Is a Gift: 'Enjoy That Audience.' |website=jazz.fm |date=April 11, 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2025}}
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 flamenca.{{Cite web |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/my-music-is-a-reflection-of-my-life-which-has-been-a-little-bit-all-over-the-place-jesse-cook-talks-diverse-new-album-libre |title="My Music is a Reflection of My Life, Which Has Been a Little Bit All Over the Place": Jesse Cook Talks Diverse New Album 'Libre'|website=www.guitarplayer.com |date=March 11, 2022 |access-date=May 26, 2025}}
In 1998, Cook was nominated for a Juno Award as Instrumental Artist of the Year.{{cite web|title=Artist Summary Jesse Cook|url=http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|website=junoawards.ca|publisher=The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences|access-date=26 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910061341/http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|archive-date=10 September 2015|df=dmy-all}} In 2001, he received a Juno Nomination for Best Male Artist.{{cite web|title=Artist Summary Jesse Cook|url=http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|website=junoawards.ca|publisher=The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences|access-date=26 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910061341/http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|archive-date=10 September 2015|df=dmy-all}} In 2001, Cook won a Juno Award in the Best Instrumental Album category for Free Fall.{{cite web|title=Artist Summary Jesse Cook|url=http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|website=junoawards.ca|publisher=The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences|access-date=26 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910061341/http://junoawards.ca/awards/artist-summary/?artist_name=Jesse+Cook&submit=Search|archive-date=10 September 2015|df=dmy-all}} In 2009, he was Acoustic Guitar's Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco category (gold went to Paco de Lucia). He is a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year and has received numerous other awards.
In 2011, Cook began filming, directing, and editing his own music videos{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0hqGinjWsc|title=Jesse Cook | Virtue (Official Music Video)|website=youtube.com |date= March 8, 2011 |access-date=May 26, 2025}} with the release of Virtue. He has since directed, filmed, and edited eight music videos {{citation needed|date=May 2025}}, 16 episodes of Friday Night Music {{citation needed|date=May 2025}}, and produced, edited, and mixed the PBS Concert Special Jesse Cook, Beyond Borders.{{Cite web |url=https://www.jessecook.com/news/beyond-borders-pbs-special/|title=Beyond Borders PBS Special|website=jessecook.com |date= March 1, 2019 |access-date=May 26, 2025}}
Cook has said of his music: "If you go to Spain and you play [my] music, they’ll say, what is this? They don’t recognize it as Flamenco because it’s not; it’s a hybrid. I love Flamenco, but I also love world music: jazz, pop, Brazilian Samba, and Persian music."{{Cite web |url=https://parvatimagazine.com/2019/09/award-winning-world-musician-jesse-cook-shares-life-on-the-road/ |title= Music Award-Winning World Musician Jesse Cook Shares Life on the Road |website=parvatimagazine.com |date= 17 September 2019 |access-date=September 23, 2019}}
Discography
- Tempest (Narada Equinox, 1995)
- Gravity (Narada Equinox, 1996)
- Vertigo (Narada World, 1998)
- Free Fall (Narada World, 2000)
- Nomad (Narada World, 2003)
- Montréal (Narada, 2005)
- Frontiers (Koch, 2007)
- The Rumba Foundation (Coach House Music, 2009)
- The Blue Guitar Sessions (eOne, 2012)
- One World (E1, 2015)
- Beyond Borders (eOne, 2017)
- Libre (One World, 2021)
- Love in the Time of Covid (2023)
=Video albums=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Concert Specials / DVDs Title
! Album Details ! Certifications ! Nominations/Awards |
|---|
| One Night at the Metropolis |
| The Rumba Foundation
| | |
| Jesse Cook: Live in Concert
|2012 DVD - Coach House Films | | |
| Jesse Cook: Live at the Bathurst Street Theatre
|2013 DVD - Coach House Films | | |
| Jesse Cook: Beyond Borders
|2019 DVD - Coach House Films | | |
Other appearances
- Enchantment (2001) Charlotte Church
- Camino Latino (2002) Liona Boyd
- Seed (2003) Afro Celt Sound System
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://www.jessecook.com Jesse Cook | Official Website]
- {{IMDb name|nm10865810}}
{{Jesse Cook}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Jesse}}
Category:Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year winners
Category:Berklee College of Music alumni
Category:Canadian jazz guitarists
Category:Canadian male guitarists
Category:Narada Productions artists
Category:Waldorf school alumni
Category:Musicians from Toronto
Category:Canadian world music musicians