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Jesse Cook Quintet takes Webb Center stage

Release Date: Jan 04, 2010 Author: Cathy Weiss

WICKENBURG, AZ -

The Juno award winning artist Jesse Cook and his band will return to the Webb Center for one night on January 14 for a 7:30 p.m. performance. Cook considered one of the worlds preeminent flamenco guitarists is deeply rooted in his music.

Jesse Cook was born in Paris and first picked up a toy guitar at the age of three desperately trying to mimic the sounds of guitarist Manitas de Plata the legendary Gypsy guitarist. He later moved to Canada and his mom recognized a precocious musical aptitude in her son; lessons followed at Torontos esteemed Eli Kassner Guitar Academy.

“People were kind of tossing around this term ‘virtuoso’ when I was a kid,” Jesse recalls almost embarrassed, “I am not sure. I certainly wasn’t one of those kids you could stick on stage and wow the crowds. I was too undisciplined; I never practiced my scales and arpeggios. I played what I wanted to play. I would learn quickly and then have fun with it.”

Cook spent summers in France where informal jamming and sessions at the annual Gypsy festival in nearby Saintes Maries de la Mer helped hone his skills. During the winter he continued his studies in classical and jazz guitar at some of North Americas most prestigious music schools, then attempted to unlearn it all while immersing himself in the oral traditions of Gypsy music.

His wide range of musical tastes paid off. It is clearly and continually reflected in his passion for exploration and fusion which has helped develop the sound and confidence he exudes on stage today.

Since then Cook, has recorded six critically acclaimed albums and traveled the world exploring musical traditions that he has blended into his style of rumba flamenco. He has headlined concerts and festivals and has opened for such legends as B.B. King, Ray Charles and Diana Krall. He has performed with British soprano Charlotte Church on the Tonight Show and toured with legendary Irish band, The Chieftains.

In 2001 Cook won his first Juno Award for Best Instrumental Album for “Free Fall.” Most recently he has been nominated for two 2008 Juno awards, for his 2007 release Frontiers (World Music Album of the Year) and for the incredible DVD “One Night at the Metropolis” (Music DVD of the Year) which captures a spectacular concert during the 2006 Montreal Jazz Festival.

But for Jesse Cook its not awards that drive him. Live concerts remain his lifeblood and at the age 43 he is really only just getting started.

If You Go: Who: Jesse Cook Quintet Where: Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, 1090 S. Vulture Mine Road, Wickenburg When: Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. How to order tickets: Call (928) 684-6624 or visit www.delewebbcenter.org Price: $35 for adults, $5 for students 18 and younger.

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1090 S. Vulture Mine Rd, Wickenburg, AZ 85390