San Diego Reader

One travels around the globe when listening to the contemporary flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook. From his eighth album, The Rumba Foundation, we hear the influences of Colombia with modern interpretations of international guitar music in the vein of Gipsy Kings and Ottmar Liebert.

"Bogota by Bus" takes us high into the Andes mountains with its Colombian-inspired music. "Bombay Diner" is an excursion to India where the guitar is played like a sitar, a stringed musical instrument used throughout the Indian subcontinent. Cook captures America on vocal track "Cecilia," a hit song by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Also featured on the album are "Santa Marta" and "Gaita," which showcase accordion and panpipes responding to Cook’s flamenco strings. "Manolo's Lament" flatters the guitar stylings of Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto’s song "El Manolo,” while Latin guitar composition "La Rumba del Jefe" is made romantic with violin accompaniment. In one of his quieter pieces, "Afternoon at Satie's," the guitar sounds like a harp in its gentle melody.

The Juno-award-winning Cook is based in Toronto, Canada, and is currently on a world concert tour performing music from The Rumba Foundation. He will play the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on January 16.

Album title: The Rumba Foundation
Artist: Jesse Cook
Label: E1 Music
Songs: (1)Bogota by Bus (2) Santa Marta (3)Tuesday's Child (4) Manolo's Lament (5) Improv 1 (6)La Rumba del Jefe (7)Improv 2 (8) Gaita (9)Rain Day (10)Bombay Diner (11) Afternoon at Satie's (12)Cecilia (13) Homebound.