Jesse Cook

Jesse Cook, a Canadian artist specializing in rhumba flamenco, has fused the exotic Spanish musical style with influences from new age, jazz, and easy listening across his Narada Records output. He joined the label in 1994 and delivered his first album, Tempest, the following year. In 1996 he put out Gravity, which reached the new age charts' Top Ten. Two years after that came Vertigo, with Free Fall arriving in the middle of 2000. Nomad emerged in 2003, and the live recording Montréal appeared the next year. Although conceptual work on Frontiers began in 2005, Cook did not release this studio album, notable for reverting to his earlier simpler production approach, until 2007. The Rumba Foundation came next in 2009. For his 2012 effort The Blue Guitar Sessions, Cook deviated from the norm by incorporating ballads and vocals from singer Emma-Lee on select tracks, resulting in a broader, jazz-infused midstream pop vibe. Issued in May 2015, the aptly titled One World featured numerous guest artists and drew from musical traditions across the Middle East, South America, Spain, and further afield. In 2017 he continued broadening his sound with Beyond Borders.