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December 18thKalos
January 15thKalos
January 15thKalos
January 16thKalos
January 16thAMP Member Appreciation Concert
January 19thBands of Enchantment Season 4 Red Carpet Premiere
January 23rd3 On A Match Kabarett
January 24thAMP Member Appreciation Concert
January 24thJesse Cook
February 2ndJesse Cook
February 3rdThe Wildwoods
February 4thThe Wildwoods
February 5thTinsley Ellis
February 17thThe Ocean Blue
February 21stKathleen Edwards
February 22ndKathleen Edwards
February 23rdAlbert Castiglia
February 25thAlbert Castiglia
February 26thSadness, Madness, & Mayhem
March 1stAltan
March 12thRonnie Baker Brooks
March 13thRonnie Baker Brooks
March 14thLúnasa
March 18thGoodnight, Texas
March 19thGoodnight, Texas
March 20thK.Flay
March 25thDavid Wilcox
March 27thDavid Wilcox
March 28thYagody
March 29thYagody
March 30thArkansauce - NEW DATE!
April 19thZoë Keating (New Date)
May 13thThe Young Dubliners
May 16thJesse Cook
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Tickets cost $34, $46 and $55 (including service charges). They are also available from the KiMo Box Office at 505-228-9857.
"I want to take people to places they haven't been." Jesse Cook, Juno-winning master guitarist, known for his intoxicating fusion of world music, has travelled the globe looking for sounds that resonate with him. "I like finding common ground for different music traditions, a space where music from around the world can come together," Cook explains. "A place where modern sounds can mix with ancient timbres."
"There are many borders in our lives. Some others have built, some we create for ourselves. Whenever I ventured beyond the borders of my life, I have been the better for it. I grew up in the cold war, in a world of walls and borders. But then people began to change the way they thought. The walls came down. Europe united, and people began thinking of themselves as global citizens. The rising nationalism of today is exploiting our differences, not celebrating them. We are back to building walls, and I don't want any part of it. Humanity, artistry, joy, and of course, love…these things don't stop at some line on the map. If music is the universal language, maybe there is something it can teach us?"
Cook also helps foster this spirit of cultural exploration visually through his photography on Instagram as well his popular weekly video releases on his YouTube channel and through Facebook.
He was born in Paris, to Canadian parents. The family moved to southern France, where they bought a small home built in the 16th Century, for 100 dollars. "It was like stepping into the Middle Ages," Cook recalls. "Manitas de Plata was popular then, and it was his albums got me interested in the sound of flamenco guitar."
After moving back to Canada, Cook started guitar lessons. "My teacher played flamenco. Then, when I'd visit my dad in France, he was living next door to Nicolas Reyes, the singer of the Gipsy Kings. I saw gipsy kids on the corner playing that way too." It was as if the world conspired to get me interested in this style and I was hooked." It was when he heard the Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin album Friday Night in San Francisco that the die was cast. "I was captivated by the sheer virtuosity and freedom, that people could play whatever they wanted, creating in that space between jazz and flamenco."
As Cook reflects back on his journey so far, "Music has a way of touching your soul, and every tradition on earth has its own way of doing that. When we venture beyond our cultural and geographic borders, we can gain the whole world."