FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| MUSIC JESSE COOK Even the guilt-by-association comparisons to Yanni, John Tesh and Kenny G. can't stop the Brazilian, Arabic and Latin-jazz melding of Jesse Cook. (Mind you, the perm-me! adult contemporary, salon-based trio couldn't stop much of anything beyond a group of middle-aged, coral nail-polished, program-clutching ladies starry-eyed for autographs.) His roots are in Paris, where he was born to two Canadian, bohemian parents who were living abroad while pursuing literary careers. Growing up in France, he listened to his mother's flamenco records and lived next door to a member of the Gipsy Kings. Call it fate or circumstance - both pushed him into producing the dazzling rumba Flamenco he creates today. "It's very passionate music," says the guitarist from his Toronto home where his mom lives (his dad is still in Arles, France), "there's nothing subtle about Flamenco, it speaks to the heart - it speaks to your happiness and your sorrow and, for me, I can't help but be moved by that music. So of course I'm drawn to it and I want to produce it myself." Despite his varied influences, like Paco de Lucia, Peter Gabriel and Procol Harum, Jesse developed a strong attachment to rumba flamenco while in France - which apparently isn't an oddball place to hear this spirited music after all. "If you go to the south of France, there are a lot of Gypsies who left Spain probably during the Spanish Civil War," explains Jesse. "The Gipsy Kings are also from that area. In fact, Nicola who is the lead singer for the Gipsy Kings was neighbors with my dad, that was how I got hooked on rumba flamenco... from living in Arles. "I'd visit my dad every summer and spend a few months with him. Seeing kids walking around strumming guitars that way, I really thought that was great - it was a different way of playing the guitar... it was very rhythmic, very passionate and I was immediately drawn to it." A lot of people are drawn to Jesse - he's currently number five on the Billboard world charts. Astonishing record sales and multiple appearances on network television are a far cry from the days when Jesse supplied soundtracks and music for the scrolling TV guide channels. It didn't take long before a flood of interested callers encouraged him to develop his attention-grabbing background Muzak into a hot Ffamenco best seller. He was inspired to release Gravity - the precursor to his latest album, Vertigo. Since then, people searching for a break from dry, mainstream, WASP music have been snatching up his spicy tunes. "The music that I'm producing is miles away from (new age music)... on a different continent. We're talking about the passionate life of Gypsies and for rumba flamenco," he says, also giving credit to his Brazilian percussion. "I mean anybody who has ever been to a carnival in Rio de Janeiro knows that it's all about dancing and partying. It has very little to do with meditation and being calm - it's all about being excited and having a fun time." |