World music artist focuses on American audiences with the official launch of his “One World” album and concert tour while his PBS special continues to power stations’ pledge drives.
Constantinople, the ancient melting pot mecca intersecting Europe, India, Middle East and Africa, serves as the inspiration for the adventurous sonic explorations of “One World,” the ninth studio album from world music guitarist Jesse Cook. Joining primal instrumentation from all over the globe with rhythmic loops, textured audioscapes and technological experimentation, Cook’s eOne Music release, which debuted at No. 1 on the jazz and world music charts in the Canadian’s homeland, will receive it’s official U.S. release on October 2 tied to the launch of the first leg of the American “One World” concert tour, scheduled to play 18 cities this fall beginning October 7 in Tucson, Arizona. Riding off to radio stations early next month is the exotic call-and-response frolic “Taxi Brazil.”
Juno Award winner and 11-time nominee Cook composed and produced “One World,” an aural journey showcasing the Paris-born, Toronto-reared artist’s cultured cornucopia of rumba, flamenco, jazz, gypsy, pop and classical guitar parlance, rife with runs and riffs demonstrating dazzlingly dexterity. Strumming and plucking mystic melodies, evocative harmonies and contemplative meditations, Cook places his guitar on “One World” amidst carefully-crafted instrumental beds that just may be the most experimental of his career. He incorporated more modern technology to create interesting beats and inventive sounds, placing them side by side with traditional instruments that have been around for centuries.
“One could imagine musicians from all over the world meeting in a marketplace in Constantinople and the mad, beautiful music that would have ensued. What would that have sounded like?” Cook pondered. “I didn’t want my crossroads to be limited to only traditional instruments; I wanted music from different time periods represented as well. Now you have ancient instruments like the Armenian duduk or the Arabic oud (the ancestor to the guitar), meeting record scratching, industrial textures, sample and loop technology. That is the world I wanted my guitar to venture through. I’ve always been interested in music technology, but on this record I gave it a wider scope.”
Cook is not afraid to admit that some of the brazen alchemy came at the curious hands of his seven-year-old son’s exuberant button pushing.
“He was often hanging around the studio while I was working. Like most kids his age, he was constantly asking if he could play on the computer. And like most parents, I would say no, fearing that he might blow up all my expensive recording equipment. But kids are persistent and I finally relented, leaving him to experiment. Later, when I came back, I was amazed by what he’d found. There were all sorts of loops happening, time stretching, texture and sample libraries I’ve never seen before. At that point, I did what any good father would do: I shooed him out of the chair and grabbed my guitar.”
Cook will support “One World” in the States with multiple concert treks, the first of which takes place this autumn followed by a second swing early next year and a third leg slated for spring 2016. His popularity as a captivating performer has multiplied exponentially in recent years bolstered by a couple of PBS concert specials, including “Jesse Cook: Live at the Bathurst Theatre,” which is currently airing on television stations across the nation as part of pledge drives.
“One World” contains the following songs:
“Shake”
“Taxi Brazil”
“Once”
“Bombay Slam”
“To Your Shore”
“Three Days”
“Tommy and Me”
“When Night Falls”
“Steampunk Rickshaw”
“Beneath Your Skin”
“Breathe”
Cook’s 2015 “One World” U.S. Fall Tour itinerary is as follows:
October 7 Tucson, Arizona The Fox Theatre
October 8 Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale Center For The Arts
October 9 San Diego, California Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
October 10 Temecula, California Thornton Winery
October 11 Avalon, California Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival
October 13 Albuquerque, New Mexico Kimo Theater
October 15 Dallas, Texas The Kessler Theater
October 16 Austin, Texas Paramount Theatre
October 17 Houston, Texas Cullen Performance Hall
October 20 Kansas City, Missouri Folly Theater
October 22 Skokie, Illinois North Shore Performing Arts Center
October 23 Burnsville, Minnesota Ames Center
October 24 Milwaukee, Wisconsin South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center
October 25 Columbus, Ohio Lincoln Theatre
October 26 Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak Music Theatre
October 27 Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo State Theatre
October 29 New York, New York New York Society For Ethical Culture
October 30 Glenside, Pennsylvania Keswick Theatre
For more information, please visit www.JesseCook.com.
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