Search - Jesse Cook :: Nomad

Wanders far and wide

Joanna Daneman | Middletown, DE USA | 10/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a Jesse Cook fan, this CD will possibly surprise you. It's frankly more World Music and less New Flamenco than his other releases. The liner notes are telegraphic and intriguing; Cook travels to Egypt to record some of the music, then off to London to mix and record in the studio with the Afrocelts. Then off to Toronto and Milwaukee. The music travels as well; the second cut (the best, in my opinion) Qadukka-l-Mayyas is a Mideast vocal piece with Cook on a Gypsy-like guitar that reminds us that the Gypsies (the Rom) moved from India out to Europe and then to Spain, bringing their violin and guitar music along and changing all music forever. If you want pure New Flamenco, you won't like this CD, but if you like a mix of sounds and flavors of World Music, this is a fine and interesting album."

Jesse matures, continues to expand

Xaprb | Charlottesville, VA USA | 12/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some people have said that this is a real departure for Jesse. I think they haven't been paying attention. He's been going this direction since his first album. Jessi is becoming increasingly fascinated with different music from around the world, and you shouldn't think it's a new trend. Remember, Jessi has been a musician for a long time -- if I recall correctly from when I received his first CD for my radio show, he'd been playing for 15 years at that point! Jessi is NOT a simple musician; he's been around a lot. Yes, his first CD was guitar melodies first and foremost, and yes, he's gotten into different rhythms, instruments, and ethnic influences since then, but it's not an about-face. You could hear it coming on his second album, and I don't mean "in hindsight" because I noticed it then, not now.Don't confuse Jessi with some jump-on-the-bandwagon artist trying to imitate the successes of folks who've mixed exotic sounds with cool techno and made it big, or jumped in with "Oh, Riverdance is hot, let me have Liam O'Flinn play the bagpipes on my next album" like some artists. Jessi's not trying to make money off of a fad, and if you're concerned that's what this album is like, don't be. I don't want you to read other reviews and think this is another Deep Forest knock-off with guitar thrown in. This is Jessi Cook sharing his musical interests and talents with us.I think this album is a testimony to Jessi's broad horizons and diverse influences, and as far as I'm concerned it's a success."

Not the best, but still worthwhile

J. Chovan | San Bernardino, CA | 09/17/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've thoroughly enjoyed Jesse Cook's albums for several years now. I was greatly anticipating this album and rushed to purchase it as soon as I could. However, while the quality of the music is still there, I feel that adding vocals to some of the songs lessened the effect of the music. Songs like Early on Tuesday and Maybe just do not sound that good with vocals. I think this album would be alot stronger minus the vocals on several of the songs. That being said, the vocals do provide some listening enjoyment. Tracks 1 and 2 combine Jesse Cook's usual instrumentals into a song with vocals that is charming and exotic. The title track, Nomad, is classical Jesse Cook and is very enjoyable. Overall, this album is worth the purchase price, but I plan on compiling a "best of" album that will probably only incorporate two or three of this album's tracks."